Bevelled Edge
by Icicle Streams
Summary: Paine, Rikku and Gippal are in Bevelle; there's a little love in the air... Rikkux?  But is it mere coincidence that brings them all together... When a plot to assassinate the Praetor leads to a more serious threat to the city, you can trust no one...
1. Chapter 1

_**This is Icicle Streams, publishing after a very long time! I started this story in January, but I got a bit stumped with writing out some parts. So that's why I'm turning to you readers to help me improve parts and write a better story! And tell me who you reckon Rikku's mysterious love with be!**_

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* * *

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Bevelle. Rikku hadn't been there for more than a year. She'd never really liked the city, even with its beautiful buildings, splendor and wealth, and she always did her best to avoid travelling there. As a child, she knew it as the one place never to set foot in; there was no guarantee you'd ever come out. On Yuna's pilgrimage, she only entered because they were all traitors of Yevon together, not just her for being an Al Bhed. She trusted the others to protect her; she trusted them to get out safely. Even when she visited with the Gullwings, the city still creeped her out. Though the maesters and hypocritical priests were gone, she was still wary; corruption existed everywhere, especially in Bevelle. The clean, colourful streets were just a façade, and the spectacular temple just reinforced the sinister image of deception Bevelle had. She hadn't wanted to go, but Cid needed her to study some machina for her, and though she hardly ever got along with her father, she always helped family. She took after her _sudran_ in how important family is; she always gave everything she had to her brother and father. Besides, she was certain there were plenty of spheres and ancient machina to find in the mysterious city.

"Rikku, let's go," said Paine lazily. She nodded towards the city impatiently.

Rikku smiled and bounced after her. Even though Yuna had left to live in Besaid with Tidus, Paine and Rikku still traveled the world on Brother's airship. It was a bit lonely, just being 'RP', but Paine had definitely been friendlier since she'd met up with the guys again after the whole Vegnagun thing. The old Al Bhed saying was right; the truth will set you free. Rikku talked the whole way to the city, and for once, Paine talked back.

They entered the palace and immediately fell silent. Things hadn't changed at all. Mist covered the ground and Rikku felt uneasy.

"Good morning, Paine, Miss Rikku," greeted Baralai politely.

Rikku blushed, embarrassed at his formalness. Other people had called her Miss, and sometimes Lady, but it just made her feel weird, as if she was supposed to look down on the other person. It just wasn't Rikku's way.

"'Lai, cut the crap and just say hey. And if you keep going on with this 'Miss Rikku' business, Rikku's going to faint from all the blood rushing to her cheeks," said Paine, rolling her eyes. Rikku wasn't the only one to blush this time.

"Ok, Dr. P. Are you guys going to stay at the palace? We have plenty of spare rooms."

Rikku hesitated. She'd rather stay on the Celsius or hire a hotel than stay in this creepy place, but she didn't want to seem rude. She glanced at Paine and let her make the decision.

Paine shrugged. "Here, I guess. I think Cid wanted Brother and stuff to go to help with the rebuilding of Home, so we can't stay on the Celsius."

"They're probably not going to go. Brother won't want to, and Buddy'll just to do whatever Brother wants," said Rikku quickly.

Baralai and Paine stared at her. Rikku started whistling and teetering on the balls of her feet.

"Even if they don't bother going to Bikanel, they won't want to hang around here," said Paine and Rikku's heart sank.

"So it's settled. You girls can stay here. It'll be easier and you won't have to go hotel hunting," smiled Baralai.

"Whoopee," murmured Rikku. She was definitely going to get a good night's sleep in this place.

* * *

Baralai woke with a start. At first he thought it was thunder from the storm outside, but then he realised; someone was banging on his door. Loudly. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, and sighed.

1:47

Exhausted, he dragged himself out of his warm, cosy bed towards the door. He yanked it open and jumped back suddenly as a tall blonde man, who'd obviously been leaning against the door too much, fell forward.

"Gippal?" he asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes. He stared at a sopping wet Gippal, who was trying to look innocent and was managing it with his boyish charm, and then at the giant purple luggage bag sitting behind him.

"Man, I'm glad this was your room. I knew your quarters were along this corridor, but I couldn't remember which. Isaaru seemed pretty pissed when I knocked on his door… "

The one-eyed Al Bhed grinned sheepishly and brushed his wet blonde hair out of his face.

"Sorry it's so late, 'Lai, but the weather was bad, and then we couldn't get the engine to start, and when I finally got here, I couldn't find a room anywhere in the city."

Baralai stared at him.

"You couldn't find a room… anywhere?"

"Well, nowhere I liked, anyway. So I knew you wouldn't mind me coming here."

Baralai ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't have any spare beds in here, but there's an empty room further down," he said, grabbing his keys and they set off down the winding corridors of the top floor. In his tired state, he almost unlocked the wrong room; he'd have a lot of scars and bruises in the morning if he burst into Paine and Rikku's room in the middle of the night.

"Hey, Gippal…" began Baralai, frowning.

"Yeah?"

"How'd you get into the palace? The guards lock up at midnight."

Gippal ruffled the back of his hair, something, Baralai noticed, he did when things weren't going well, or if he was guilty.

"Well, I kinda had to rewire the whole locking system…"

Tired as he was, Baralai couldn't help gaping at him. Gippal quickly started defending himself at the look on Baralai's face.

"I tried the intercom, but all I got were snores. Don't worry; I fixed it up once I was inside. It was hard work getting through the main doors though…"

Baralai decided he didn't want to know. All he wanted was to go back to sleep. He unhooked the key from the chain and handed it to Gippal.

"All right, penthouse suite! Thanks, 'Lai," said Gippal gratefully. He hugged his old friend.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Gippal stared at her incredulously. What was she doing in Bevelle? And what the hell was she doing? He'd always known that Rikku could concentrate when she wanted to. Still, it was a surprise seeing her sitting in the middle of a pile of old books and scrolls in the temple library.

"Whatcha doing, Cid's Girl?" he asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

She jumped and struck him instinctively. He rubbed his tender cheek. He'd forgotten how hard she could hit.

"Eek! I'm sorry, you startled me, Gippal. Are you ok?" she said, trying to get a closer look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine, Rikku!" he said, grabbing her by the shoulders to get her to stop bouncing around nervously.

She stopped and sighed with relief. She blew her hair out of her face, instead of using her hand like a normal person. He'd forgotten she did that too. It seemed that he'd forgotten a lot of things about her, even though they had been best friends as kids. He scratched the back of his head uneasily. He should have talked to her more in the last three years. It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to him; she'd sent messages every now and then. But he was so busy, and it took him longer and longer to reply, until they eventually stopped coming…

"So what're you doing in Bevelle, Gippal? You should've told me you were coming."

"It was kinda last minute. I'm here to check things out. We were thinking of starting a new Faction branch in Bevelle, but I don't think New Yevon's a huge fan of the idea… I was going to swing by next month, but plans changed and I ended up coming now. What're you?"

"Pops wanted me to research about their machina. He found a weird power converter, and it looked like the same style as Vegnagun. We need to know as much as possible, before we use it; we don't want anything dangerous," she explained.

"Cid sent _you_ to research?" he teased.

She pouted at him. "Of course! I'm a _brilliant _researcher!"

Gippal smiled. She was a strong girl, outspoken, but in a good way. She was sweet though; she cared for other people.

"I haven't seen you much lately," he said quietly.

"Well, you know, the Gullwings call and all…" she trailed off. Deep down, they both knew it was his fault.

"Um," said Rikku awkwardly. "Sorry, Gippal, but I really need to get this done for _Vydran_, so if you're not going to help, then vamoose!"

She glared at him impatiently. Gippal hastily grabbed a manuscript and pulled up a seat.

* * *

Why was she here? Maybe it was the fact that Rikku's constant whining got annoying after a while, or that she couldn't resist visiting home, or that she was hoping to catch up with a certain Praetor. Too bad nothing ever went to plan. Rikku was bugging her more than ever, talking about her machina, or whatever mischief she got into with the priests or Gippal. Then it turned out that her parents were on holiday to the Moonflow, hoping to 'catch some sun and maybe some fish' as her father put it, or as her mother whispered quietly to her afterwards, much to her horror, 'to catch some sun and maybe some _boys_!' And to top it all off, Baralai was being Baralai and taking on far too much work than was healthy, so she hardly saw him except for at dinner. So she left Gippal and Rikku to their own devices (something involving ice and sliding down a hill?) and had hit the town.

Glancing around the empty side street, she spotted a small olive-green shop with 'The Fig Tree' emblazoned on an old-fashioned sign in gold cursive. A stuffed moogle holding a teapot and a large, bizarre purple pistol sitting on the counter caught her eye. The bell on the door tinkled and the rather effeminate-looking man cleaning glasses at the counter looked up.

"Paine?" asked the brunette, sweeping his long fringe out of his eyes.

She smirked and pulled up a barstool.

"You finally ended up starting it, Dyrran?"

Grabbing several bottles of various shapes and colours, he grinned and began mixing them with expert skill.

"That's right. You didn't think I could do it, did you?"

Paine clinked her glass with his and gulped down half of the amber liquid. She could taste apricot and mango, with a slight bitter tang and fiery blast as it went down her throat.

"I knew you had the talent," she said, thinking of the hand-made moogle in the window. "But I thought you'd be too spacey to end up doing it."

"All those hours at academy I spent doodling and designing stuff? They'd be wasted! And the lashes for wasting class time?" he shuddered at the painful memory.

"As soon as I met you, I knew… you were the most creative person I knew, and I knew you'd do great things."

Dyrran flicked his head to the left, making the brown hair fly out of his eyes to the side.

"Wow, you could tell all that when you were eight? That's pretty crazy."

They laughed and finished their drinks.

"At least you managed to do it," said Paine, admiring the elegant mural on the wall. The tree's branches wove around the corner of the room, its silver and gold leaves glistening. The painted Bahamut seemed to leap out at you, so detailed and lifelike, yet somehow… so surreal.

"You make me and this little place sound so great! What about you, traveling around Spira with the High Summoner and helping save the world from Vegnagun?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know about…. that?"

He smiled, almost pityingly.

"Paine, you of all people should know that secrets don't stay secret for long. Everyone knows about Vegnagun. And so they should. Enough with the secrets. That's one of the reasons I left the priesthood."

"You were training to be a priest?" she asked, staring at her childhood friend incredulously.

"What did you think I was doing while you were trying for the Crimson Squad? Just sitting around, painting and perfecting my art? I mean, I still did it, but I had to help fight Sin too and protect Dahlia. I can fire a gun decently-"

"Dyrran, you're the most accurate shooter ever," interrupted Paine.

"You flatter me, Paine, but that's only at close range. I was never a good warrior; I could never serve the Crusaders. So I went to the temple and started my training."

He laughed at the shocked look at her face and pulled a delicious-looking cream cake on an exquisitely hand-crafted plate from the glass display counter.

"How long were you at the temple for?"

Dyrran paused to think.

"Well, I joined a month or two after you left. Then Lady Yuna uncovered everything and brought the Eternal Calm…"

"So _you_, of all people, managed to follow all the strict orders for a year?"

"Three actually, but after eighteen months, I became a mentor for young priests, so _I_ was the one giving orders."

"Why'd you stay with New Yevon after all the scandal?"

He smiled and Paine saw a glint of fierce determination in dancing in his amber eyes.

"That's _why_ I stayed. I would have left after a while, once the Eternal Calm started, and begun my artistic career, but I was the apprentice of the guy who looked after all the old records and infospheres, so I was in the perfect position to do a little snooping. There's more ancient machina hidden in Bevelle besides Vegnagun and-"

He stopped abruptly, and his eyes focused on something behind her. He walked towards the front door and bolted it. Paine turned and saw him staring out the window, moving his head to get a better view from behind the grey curtains.

"What's wrong?" she asked, grabbing the hilt of her sword.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," he reassured her.

Not believing his pleasant smile, she looked out the window next to him. Two tough-looking Al Bhed men with large guns were leaning against the brick wall on the other side of the street. She wasn't sure because of their dark goggles, but she was pretty certain they were staring back at them. Dyrran leaned over and closed the curtain, obscuring her view.

"They're just some rowdy guys who always cause trouble here," he said carelessly in answer to her questioning look and changed the subject.

Paine was sure that he wouldn't have bolted the door if they were just customers, but sipped her drink and said nothing.

* * *

_**So what do you guys reckon? Any thoughts about the new guy? Constructive criticism would be great- I'm always looking for ways to improve my stories!**_

_**And thankyou to LittleAlBhed for pointing out that error of 'YP' instead of 'RP'! :D  
**_


	2. Chapter 2

Rikku lay her head on the soft green grass, panting.

"It's been so long," she murmured in between breaths.

Gippal, bent over with his hands resting on his knees, straightened out and smiled sadly back at her from a few metres away.

"It's been _too_ long."

Rikku's cheeks flushed scarlet. She hadn't realised he had heard what she'd said.

She jumped to her feet and gazed out at the grassy hill, temporarily transformed to an icy wasteland, thanks to her recently acquired magic skills and a lot of Ice Gems.

"We haven't done anything fun like this since before… since we were kids."

She had been going to say, '_before we left Home_', but she didn't want to remind him… remind herself of that. She'd forgotten after so many years, but now she remembered how much she had missed him, and still did.

"Well, then, let's go!" said Gippal, walking towards the icy slope. They took a run-up and leapt, sliding down on their boots. Their backsides were already damp and sore from numerous stacks, but after a few attempts, all the memories came back and they were balancing as well as they had when they were young. The wind blew through her hair, whipping her braids behind her and she laughed. It was so simple and silly, but she still loved it. The ice gently thinned out back into grass and they ran, gradually slowing to a stop in the green clearing. The grassy hills between Bevelle and the Calm Lands were perfect for running down ice.

"That was awesome!" cried Rikku. "I love doing this."

Gippal grinned and playfully pushed her.

"Not the first time you tried. Remember, you were crying because you were so scared, so I had to help you down."

"Whatever," she muttered, shaking her head. "Remember, I was the one who helped you! You would have smacked right into that rock if I hadn't pulled you out of the way."

"Pulled? You were so freaked out; you were grabbing me so tight that we fell out of the way!"

She snorted.

"Yeah right. The only one worse than you at this is Brother."

"You tell it your way, I'll tell it mine," said Gippal. "Now come on, I'll race you back up, kid."

Rikku put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

"Gippal, you _know_ I'm faster than you. And you hate losing."

"Not up the grassy bit," he explained, pulling her away from the green edges of the hill. "Up the ice. Think you can handle it, kiddo?"

She put her fingers to her chin, then after a momentary pause, she grinned.

"Go!" yelled Gippal, getting a head start.

"No fair!" she called from behind him.

"Deal with it, Princess!"

She sprinted, taking wider steps to keep balance. She was slowly catching up to him, when he pushed her sideways. She lurched back and forth and somehow regained her balance

"Gippal!"

He laughed at her and then turned around again to keep running up the hill. He was running slower now; he didn't need to try so hard now that she was behind. Rikku sprinted behind him just as they were getting to the top and launched herself onto his back. He lurched forward, but was still running, while she clung helplessly to him. His back was warm and solid, kinda reassuring to be resting on. Once the grass was in sight, he collapsed forwards and she tumbled off his back.

"That was mean!" answered Rikku, poking her tongue out at him.

"Sorry, won't happen again, ma'am," he said with a grin.

"It was, Gippal, it was very mean! But I guess I can forgive you…"

"Hey!" exclaimed Gippal as she sat on him. She grinned mischievously and rested her head on his back. He winced.

"What's wrong?" she said worriedly.

"Just an old scar…"

She gently pulled back his collar and saw a pale gunshot wound with tiny red veins branching out from it.

"Is that… is that where..?"

"Yep, that's where Nooj shot me," he said with a wry smile.

She thought back to the Bevelle Underground, when the three men held each other at gunshot and those Pyreflies consumed Baralai. Gippal didn't try to fight Nooj like Baralai did… he even held his gun to Baralai's head to stop him…

"You were very forgiving," she said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning over onto his back.

"Well, you didn't realise Shuyin made him do it until the whole Vegnagun thing, did you?"

He paused and began ripping out the grass.

"I knew it wasn't him though. I don't think 'Lai understood, he just thought Nooj betrayed us. But I could tell… he wasn't himself… there was…"

He turned and stared her right in the eyes. The serious, fiery look in his eye scared her slightly. She'd never seen him look like this.

"There was something really evil in that cave… the Den of Woe… That's what made Nooj shoot us. I knew it wasn't him…"

He gazed off into the distance and Rikku could do nothing but gently rest her head against his shoulder.

* * *

"Hello? 'Lai?"

Baralai shook himself out of his daze and saw Gippal waving his hand in front of his face.

"What? Sorry," he apologised.

Paine sighed impatiently.

"Baralai, what's with you tonight?" she asked, and then the conversation carried on without him.

Baralai stuck his fork into a piece of marinated beef and chewed slowly. He was so exhausted. When Gippal had shown up at in the middle of the night a few days ago, he didn't fall back to sleep for ages and hadn't had the chance to catch up the hours since. He was swamped with work. He had been trying for the past two month or so to get New Yevon to unite with the other political parties, as the Youth League had done with the Guado and Ronso. They'd finally started to improve relations with the Guado, Ronso and Al Bhed after a month of debate, but the elder and more influential members of the party were stubborn and still refused to join the Youth League. Even the younger priests thought they were being stupid; if the Guado and Ronso can put aside their differences, why couldn't they? And then there was the new Machine Faction branch the Al Bhed wanted to build… he wasn't too sure, but he was planning to go discuss it with Gippal when he had the chance.

"I saw an old friend of mine, Dyrran the other day. We were at Academy together."

"Academy?" asked Gippal.

Baralai swallowed his mouthful.

"You know, what they call school in Bevelle," he explained.

"Oh," said Rikku. "You know Gip, we call it _Maynharc_."

"Pardon?" asked Baralai.

"'Learners'," explained Paine. "I always forget you don't speak Al Bhed."

"Well, it's not really what the monks and priests teach you. I was educated at the local temple, until I left for the Squad."

Gippal shook his head as if embarrassed for him.

"See, you Yevonites learn boring, useless things like calligraphy and... singing! Us Al Bhed learn important stuff-"

"-like fixing up machina-"

"-and how to hold your own in a fight."

"Yup yup. I'd prefer _Maynharc_ to Academy or temples any time!" cried Rikku.

"Damn straight!" agreed Gippal.

They high-fived and burst into laughter. Baralai smiled. It was so nice to see them so close and having fun, even after such a long time apart. Rikku was such a nice girl too; he'd only met her a few times before, but she had always treated him as if they were great friends, and now they were. Gippal and Rikku were pretty different; Rikku a sunshiny sweetheart, Gippal a bit more subdued, but a joker at heart. Together though, they were like salt and pepper; they were different and fine by themselves, but together… look out! When they were together, they were like kids (well, for Rikku, _more_ like kids) and did all sorts of silly, fun things. Their presence was refreshing after a long day working with stuffy old priests… though Baralai couldn't talk. At the rate he was going at, he'd probably end up like them. Paine was right, he was working too hard. But he wouldn't have to if those stupid upper party members just agreed to unite with the other leaders of Spira…

"'Lai!"

Baralai shook his head and looked up.

"Yevon, 'Lai, you actually need to sleep more and work less!" said an exasperated Paine.

* * *

"How can you be bothered tying your hair in braids everyday?" asked Gippal, fingering the golden plaits with his callused fingers. They were soft and smelled of lemon. He noticed she didn't pull away as he played with her ponytail.

"Well… you have to promise not to tell anyone," said Rikku, looking around worriedly.

Baralai, whom the two Al Bheds had managed to convince to come out for lunch, looked at her questioningly.

"You see, whenever I saw Yunie as a kid, she'd always braid my hair. So when she joined the Gullwings, she did the same."

"But she left ages ago!"

Rikku glanced around anxiously, and signaled the two men to move in closer.

"Yeah, but she convinced Paine to do it one day… and she loved it, so now she's done it every morning since," whispered Rikku.

Baralai stared at her incredulously while Gippal burst into laughter. _Paine? _Of all people, _Paine_ does Rikku's braids everyday. Rikku pouted in annoyance.

"Shh! You can't tell anyone! If she finds out I told you guys…"

"I never thought she'd be into that sort of thing," said Baralai thoughtfully.

"Dr. P likes to do hair?"

"Dr. P also likes her friends to _keep quiet about her secrets_," said Paine, arriving on the scene and glaring at Rikku, who seemed to shrink. "I leave you guys alone for ten minutes to go get cake and this happens. I guess you're back to just seventy-four respect points now, Rikku…"

"Aw, poopie face. I just earned a whole bunch last week!"

She shook her head vigorously and all her braids with it. They glistened and danced in the light, almost hypnotically.

"Shall we go now?" asked Baralai.

The four of them headed to a quiet little park near one of the smaller rivers of Bevelle. Gippal plonked himself on the sweet-smelling grass and rested his head back against the shady bay tree behind him.

"_Tysn_, it's so nice to take a break…" he sighed, closing his eyes and enjoying the golden rays of sunlight streaming through the leafy canopy above.

"A break from what, exactly?" asked Rikku mischievously. "I thought you said you'd come to Bevelle on official business, and whenever I see you, I catch you lounging around."

"Hey, I have been working, which is more than I can say for you, Cid's Girl."

"_E ryja y hysa… (I have a name…)_"

Paine rolled her eyes at them, which made Gippal laugh harder. Baralai smiled and began slicing up the berry cream cake Paine had brought.

"You girls are lucky you don't have to sit in an office all day. I'm so sick of work," said Gippal listlessly, pulling little fuzzy grains of a stalk of long grass.

He actually was. Things had been getting so busy, but somehow, it seemed slower slower. They were engineering more machina than ever, but it never seemed enough; they had to keep building more and more. Khano, his second-in-command, said there was just more demand for machina, but Gippal had the feeling it was something more. Maybe it was just growing up in fear of Sin or those traumatising years in the Crimson Squad, but he'd learnt to listen to his instincts. For the past several months, he was sure something was off, and something huge was going to happen…

"...You guys are stupid…" said Paine, shaking her head. Baralai was resting on his elbows, silently shaking with laughter, while Rikku was trying to lick cream off her nose, giggling hysterically. Gippal loved her laugh. It was so golden and happy. After he'd reunited with her a week or two ago, everything had been great. With her around, it was like every day was a holiday; everything was so fun and life seemed simpler, like when they were young.

"This cake is amazing, Paine!"

"Dyrran made it. He's great at this sort of thing and his artwork… it's incredible."

Baralai nodded in agreement.

"I think he's coming in next week to paint a mural of the courtyards at the palace, it should be great."

Rikku nodded enthusiastically, and then turned suddenly to Gippal.

"Someone's awfully quiet today, Mister. What's up?"

Gippal sighed and stretched his muscles.

"Nothing. I'm just relaxed, that's all. Everything's good."

She wrinkled her nose, then leaned her head against his shoulder. Her presence was warm and comforting, and he kinda… well, it was sorta embarassing, but he kinda wanted to know what her lips felt like…

"Well, that's good. But it's still freaking me out a bit that you're being quiet for once."

He glanced at her with concern, but she was smiling contently with her eyes closed and he gave a satisfied sigh. Everything was good.

* * *

One thing Paine prided herself on was her readiness for anything. She always packed light, and could leave at a moments notice, so long as she had her sword and a bottle of sake.

"What're you doing, Dr. P?"

She glanced up at the tall, one-eyed Al Bhed leaning in the doorway.

"Didn't Rikku tell you?"

"Didn't Rikku tell me what?" he asked, staring at the unbelievably small backpack she was managing to fit all she needed into.

"My parents were in a hover accident," answered Paine, slinging the bag onto her shoulders. "At the Moonflow. I need to go down there. Dad's doing ok; he just has a broken arm I think…"

"Your mother?"

She paused, and stared down at her neatly made bed.

"We… we don't know yet. She's in a serious condition, but she should be fine…" she trailed off. Images of the worst kept flashing through her mind... her mother... a lifeless body trapped under machina wreckage... like those Crusaders and Al Bhed on the beach three years ago...

"Are Brother and Buddy swinging by to pick you up?" asked Gippal, his voice piercing through her anguished thoughts.

Paine shook her head and walked towards the door.

"They actually listened to Cid for once and went to Bikanel to help. Besides, the Celsius has broken down. I'm catching a hover down south; it shouldn't take too long."

He nodded slowly. Paine leaned on the door impatiently. She had to leave, she had to leave now.

"I hope everything's ok, Paine. I'll see you soon?"

She gave him a small, rare smile and left the room, walking purposefully down the winding corridors. She took long, swift steps and turned the corner quickly, only to bump into someone. Stumbling backwards, he caught her by the shoulders.

"Sorry, are you alri- Paine, what's wrong?"

She looked up at Baralai's soft, brown eyes.

"I'm heading to the Moonflow. My parents were in a hover accident."

"Oh."

She could see him gazing into her eyes, searching for some clue to how she was feeling, but she gave nothing. Living with Sin had taught her that any sign of weakness could be fatal.

"I have to go."

He stared a bit longer, then finally let go of her shoulders and, released, she headed off.

"'Lai," she said, turning.

"Yes?"

"You two take care of Rikku. She wanted to come with me, but I told her to stay here; it's a family thing, you know."

He nodded, and she left, maybe for longer than she anticipated.

* * *

**_Ooh... the plot thickens! Well, that's what I reckon anyway..._**

**_Icicle Streams  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**You guys might have to wait a few days for the next chapter, because I'll be on science camp for the next few days!**_

_**Anyway, thanks for all the response. It was far more than I had expected, and its fantastic! Now... on with the story!  
**_

_**-Icicle Streams**_

_**P.S. to chocalateymenta, I am definitely going to finish this, even if i run out of ideas and have to end it really badly. I hate unfinished stories! And to the rest of you... you'll just have to wait right until the end to find out the pairing!  
**_

* * *

The musty parchment was yellow and aged, scattering fine dust everywhere as Rikku unfurled each ancient document. She was mesmerised though; the precise engineering of each piece of machina from an age a thousand years past astounded her. Detailed diagrams accompanied by complex explanations filled the pages. Her thoughts trailed back to that giant power converter Pops had found in the desert. From what little information she had gained, she could tell it held huge potential. Ancient Bevelle machinery was immensely powerful… perhaps too powerful. The style of the machina was completely foreign to her, aside from that meeting with Vegnagun.

She paused.

It had been more than a year… almost two years now. After Sin, she had known they could definitely dismantle and destroy it… but it had still frightened her, if just a little. If they couldn't destroy it in time… if they weren't strong enough to…

Something on the next manuscript caught her eye.

There was a diagram of a miniature Vegnagun-like machine, armed with giant gun barrels and other destructive weapons. But her eyes darted to the dark, scribbled notes that stood out against the fading ink. Obviously recent; maybe only added in the last year. _What the heck?_ The writing was in Al Bhed… but only a few Al Bhed people would ever be allowed into the deepest libraries of Bevelle. She'd only been granted permission because of her status as former guardian, and knowing the Praetor of New Yevon personally. You _had _to be important to be here. Maybe that's why the handwriting seemed familiar… she'd seen those strangely hooked letters in someone's office at Djose.

"'_Tekkanc haatat…tek pamuf dra K. …' _(Diggers needed… dig below the G_**.**_ …)" she paused and leaned closer, trying to decipher the messy scrawl.

"'_Cxiyt?' _(Squad?)… _tek pamuf dra K. Cxiyt_?"

That didn't make sense! But it was definitely a capital _K__**.**_, capital _C_, followed by a _xiyt_… What the heck was the G. Squad?

While she pondered this, her stomach rumbled and Rikku decided to pack up for the day. She needed dinner!

* * *

Baralai opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out to break the silence.

The dark, armoured figure moved steadily closer, its menacing form hiding the silhouette of an assault rifle. The gaping red mouth that curled into a snarl and the sound of a readied gun that foretold his doom. The soldier advanced towards him; each step he staggered back only brought it closer. It was over; the end was inevitable. He was unarmed and what little strength he had seemed to leave him, nothing more than vapour. His back touched something solid; he was trapped. The soldier leaned his eye to the iron sights and pulled the trigger…

Gasping, Baralai awoke suddenly. He dragged his fingers down his face, damp with sweat. He leaned back into his office chair and breathed, trying to slow his heart rate. He hadn't dreamt of that soldier since the truth about the Crimson Squad had been revealed. That ghostly soldier who represented corruption, who represented betrayal.

Who represented death.

He opened up his schedule lying on the desk in front of him. He needed to distract himself.

The next week was full of meetings and other work. The workmen were to finish up with the renovations on the Eastern Wing, and that fellow… Dyrran was to start work on the mural in the Greater Southern Quadrangle in a few days. He was eager to see his work after all Paine had said. Dyrran had been highly recommended by his secretary, Miss Dryada, who insisted that he be the artist commissioned for the new mural.

Though he tried to occupy himself with work, the shadow of the soldier hung in the back of his mind.

* * *

"Whatcha doing, Cid's Girl?"

The dancing Al Bhed girl paused. Her wet clothes clung to her slight frame, but she didn't shiver; she just smiled. She looked so beautiful, so calm, standing there in the rain.

"It's raining."

Gippal smirked and walked towards her. The rain began to penetrate through his clothing as he left the shelter of the terrace and came closer.

"Aren't you a bit old to dance in the rain?"

She ignored him and continued to skip, splashing water from the growing puddles onto him. She spun on her toes, droplets flying from her golden braids.

"Besides, it's not like rains that unusual for us anymore. We're not in the desert anymore."

Opening her eyes, she turned to face him and breathed in deeply. Her face was serene and full of hope; the face of a little Al Bhed girl at the sight of the first drops of the rain season.

"Yeah, it's not that unusual," she said finally.

"So..?"

"But this kind of rain is. Rain on mainland Spira, its always so grey and dismal. It's not like the rain at Home."

Gippal nodded in agreement. The common showers at Djose were empty, nothing like the vital, life-giving rain in the desert.

"But sometimes it's different," he murmured.

She paused, a smile radiating out from deep within her and spread to her lips.

"Sometimes it is."

Gippal hadn't realised how close she had come towards him now. He could see each individual droplet of water in her eyelashes. She opened her mouth to say something and then hesitated… and just smiled, closing her eyes peacefully.

"We'd better go inside, huh?" she said after a while.

"Probably."

Rikku nodded slowly and turned back towards the palace. As they walked back, he couldn't take his eye off her. Her head was turned downwards…was she looking at him? At his hand? He saw her hand move deliberately towards his, her slender fingers outstretched towards his, millimetres apart … but then she dropped it back to her side and opened the courtyard gates

* * *

The wind whistled through Paine's silver hair as the hover continued steadily south. She had always liked to ride on the edge of hovers and feel the thrill of the speed. Before she joined the Gullwings, it was the closest she got to flying.

Right now however, she was motionless on the platform. Right now, she wasn't standing in the wind for the excitement, but because it made it seem like they were travelling faster than they were. And the faster they travelled, the sooner they would reach the Moonflow. The sooner she would get to her mother. And that's all that mattered.

The sound of motors and heavy engines filled the air, mechanical grunting and the sound of treads on the gravelly roads. It grew steadily louder; whatever it was, it was coming towards them. Paine squinted, struggling to see what was rising from the horizon. As it drew closer, her eyes widened in realization and shock.

"I have never seen such a sight," said the driver with a thick Al Bhed accent. He whistled long and low, clearly in awe.

And as the never-ending convoy of machina continued north, Paine couldn't help but agree.

* * *

_**Give me your thoughts! **__**I hope you enjoyed that one, and are looking forward to the next! It should be exciting! (I hope... :D)**_

_**(5 October) And I just realised how nerdy it sounded, me saying I was at science camp! It wasn't like, Space Cadet camp or anything. Everyone in my year has to go, and we learn about native animals and the environment and stuff. It's pretty cool!  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks for your reviews everybody! Get ready for this chapter!**_

_**

* * *

**_"You're such a dummy, you know that?"

Gippal grinned at her, and Rikku crossed her arms and leaned on him as hard as she could, but she did it with a smile. It was getting pretty late; almost midnight, but she was content to stay in his quarters for a while longer. When Paine had left a few days ago, she started hanging out with Gippal way more. Not that she was complaining. The longer she stayed with him, the longer she delayed having to spend hours lying in bed awake, wondering, hoping that maybe he felt the same about her that she did about him.

"How's your research for Cid going?" he asked, shifting his weight on the suede couch and interrupting her thoughts.

"Alright, I guess. From what I can tell, most of Vegnagun was made in Bikanel, then transported to Bevelle to be assembled."

Gippal sat up straight and stared at her.

"You mean the Al Bhed made Vegnagun?"

"I dunno. This was a thousand years ago, remember? There might have been other people in Bikanel to build it."

Clearly dissatisfied, he leaned back into the seat. Rikku hung her knees on the arm of the couch and rested her head on his lap. She shivered slightly with pleasure as he ran his fingers through her hair. His touch always managed to do that to her.

"How's your work?" she asked after a moment's silence.

"Things have been… hectic lately. We've got a huge order for machina in the Calm Lands from a new customer, the biggest we've ever had. We probably can't even meet the order in time; it's all meant to be ready by next month. I dunno, it's weird though... I can't put my finger on it, but something's up…"

Rikku shrugged. Gippal worried too much, worried over nothing. He needed to just enjoy what life had to give and don't get so bothered about the technicalities.

"Maybe some crazy business tycoon is gonna build a huge theme park!" she joked.

He frowned.

"I'm serious."

"Gippal, I'm sure it's nothing, don't be silly and worry about it."

Gippal sighed. Rikku suddenly noticed the absence of his fingers along her hair and neck.

"It's just that… forget it." he said quietly.

"What is it? Tell me!"

"Don't worry about it, you wouldn't get it. You don't have four hundred workers lives resting on you. It's important work."

"What, and mine's not?" replied Rikku. She sat up straight. "I do a lot of important stuff, you know."

He smiled, and somehow it infuriated her.

"I know you do, Princess."

Rikku stood up abruptly and glared at him. She couldn't stand him and that conceited grin on his face, trying to appease her. She knew that look; it's the one Cid and Brother always gave her when they were to up themselves to admit they were wrong, but couldn't be bothered arguing anymore.

"Don't patronise me!"

Gippal stared at her.

"What the heck are you talking about?" he asked loudly.

"You never take me seriously, you know that? No one does! You know, I like being smiley and making everyone else happy too, but that doesn't mean I'm dumber than you. Everyone just thinks of me as a childish clutz!"

"Well, maybe you are!"

Rikku stared at him and his stupid, smug face.

"Excuse me?"

"If you want people to treat you less like a child, maybe you should grow up!"

"I am grown up!"

Gippal shrugged his shoulders with an 'I told you so' expression on his face.

"Whatever you say."

"Just because you're big 'Mr. Faction Leader' doesn't mean you're better than everyone else. They probably just put you in charge so you wouldn't touch the machina and blow everything up."

He laughed coldly.

"Like you understand what real work is, running around Spira in that airship of yours. You don't know anything about real responsibility."

"You know, Pops relies on me heaps. He trusts me with a lot; he's always trained me for leadership!"

"The only reason he chose you is because his son is an idiot who can barely do anything!"

That was it. Rikku slapped him as hard as she could.

"You leave my brother out of this! He's a smarter, better, more honourable man than you could ever be!"

As she stormed away from that hurt, confused-looking fool, she'd never felt more satisfied in her life. But she couldn't explain the bitter tears that filled her eyes.

* * *

It seemed that waking up in the middle of the night to open the door to loud and talkative Al Bheds had become a habit of his. Still, Baralai was taken aback at the usually smiling Al Bhed girl sobbing in his doorway.

"Rikku, what's wrong?"

She sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes, only to resume crying. Baralai staggered backwards as she flung herself into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Here, take a seat," he said gently, carefully guiding her towards the sofa in the living room. "I'll get you a drink."

Rikku curled herself into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Can, can I have some wine or something?" she said with a shaking voice.

He hesitated; he wasn't sure if giving her alcohol was the best idea.

"Please, Baralai?"

She gazed at him pleadingly with her tear-filled, emerald eyes, and he sighed and headed into the kitchen.

When he returned to the sitting room with two glasses, the wine and a box of tissues, she was still sobbing uncontrollably.

"Here," he said, offering her a box of tissues as he sat down next to her. While she blew her nose loudly, he poured out generous glasses of the fine red wine. She began to breathe deeply and managed to calm down slightly. She took the glass from him thankfully and emptied it of crimson liquid.

"Look at me, I'm sobbing all over you," she said with a little laugh as she filled her glass again. "It's just, I really needed someone to talk to, and Paine's gone to the Moonflow…"

"What about Gippal?" he asked, only to realise his mistake when she burst into tears again.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered soothingly. She leaned over rested her head on his shoulder, making his t-shirt wet with tears. Then the whole story came out; how she was so sick of everyone treating her like a child and not taking her seriously, how they all teased her whenever she had something serious to say, how everything had been going so well with Gippal when she realised what a big jerk he was…

"Then he brought up Brother! As if it's up to him to judge…" she murmured angrily.

"He didn't mean it, it was just the heat of the moment," explained Baralai, gently stroking her back in a comforting manner to calm her down. "Your brother is a good man-"

"See! You barely know him…" she began, draining another glass.

In truth, Baralai had never spoken to the man personally, but he'd met him a few times, and he was related to Rikku and Yuna, so...

"… but you know what a good person he is. We fight and all, but he's a good brother. I'd do anything for him, I'd follow him anywhere…"

She smiled as she poured herself a third glass.

"Haven't you had enough?" asked Baralai tentatively, but she ignored him.

"It's funny you know… when we were young, I'd follow my big brother everywhere, give up everything to help him, always hugging him and wanting him to take my hand in his. But he'd never show me any affection back…" she trailed off sadly.

Baralai finished his glass and set it down far from the bottle so he wouldn't be tempted to have a second. He noticed that Rikku, on the other hand, wasn't slowing down at all.

"Just because he doesn't show it that way, doesn't mean he doesn't love you. He strikes me as the sort of person who doesn't show his emotions like that. But he loves you, I'm sure of it. And he'd do anything for you too. He's a good person."

Rikku nodded and leaned on his shoulder again.

"He is… unlike that stupid, jerk Gippal…"

Then, suddenly, she started crying again. Baralai took her into his arms, and she hid her face in his already soaked shirt.

"Gippal was just stressed out; I'm sure you two can clear it up in the morning. He's a good person, just like your brother-"

"And you," she interrupted unexpectedly.

"What?"

"You, Baralai," she said, smiling as she looked up at him with her sparkling, swirly green eyes. "Besides Yunie, you're the nicest person I know."

And before Baralai realised what was happening, her warm, soft lips were pressed against his. Deep down, he knew… but her lips were so wonderfully warm and soft, her delicate hands that ran through his hair felt so right. He ignored the taint of alcohol on her breath and the dampness of tears on her cheeks. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, wanting to soothe her anger, her sorrow. Everything was so dreamlike; the only thing that seemed real was Rikku. It was when she started playing with the hem of his shirt, he became wary, suddenly alert. He carefully placed his arm under her knees and carried her to the bedroom, her head resting against his shoulders. She began to kiss his neck, her breath hot against his skin, sending a shiver down his spine, but he ignored her, and placed her gently under the quilts and left her to sleep.

* * *

Gippal sat slumped in the suede couch, resting his head in his hands and savouring the coldness against his hot face. He had forgotten how sensitive Rikku was… but then again, he hadn't really been the nicest guy ever, had he? Brother was a decent guy; _way _out there, but a decent guy all the same. He'd actually meant what he said about her though… he actually thought Rikku's work was amazing.

_She _was amazing.

He jumped to his feet and headed straight for the door. What the heck was he doing sitting here when _she _was out there, probably burning with hatred for him.

His breaths were the only sound in the otherwise cold deserted corridor. His footsteps echoed as he strode over to her door. The pounds of his fist resonated throughout the room, only to be answered by silence. He pressed his ear to the door, but could hear no sounds of life on the other side. It didn't surprise him though; she would be far away now, as far from him as she could possibly get.

_Cred_.

He knew she was fast… but…

Resting his cheek against the cold glass, he looked out the window into the brightly-lit city below, wondering where in Bevelle she was.

* * *

Paine paced the waiting room anxiously, while her father sat quietly in the corner. The door swung open and she instinctively reached for her sword.

"How is she?" she asked the nurse, loosening her grip on the weapon.

"We won't be sure until she wakes up, but it seems like she'll be fine. She just needs to rest for a few days and continue taking potions."

"Thank goodness," came her father's quiet voice from behind her. "I was so worried about her."

The two of them followed the young nurse into the chamber. A woman with long raven curls lay on the bed. She was beautiful, but her skin was unnaturally pale and her hair was slightly greasy. Paine took a seat at the head of her mother's bed and turned to her father.

"So what happened?"

"I'm not really sure. We were riding the hover down to Luca, when we started going to fast and span out of control. Should've known not to rely on machina too much…"

"Why'd the driver lose control?"

"I think it was the wet conditions and traffic. That's what Shelinda said on her report," replied the nurse. Paine looked at her, and she turned pink and covered her mouth.

"That's right. Besides the tourists like us, the Machine Faction had a huge convoy of transports, carrying machina up north. The biggest fleet of bloody machina I've ever set eyes on."

Paine thought of the transport she'd seen two days ago. Her mind suddenly flashed back to those two Al Bhed men outside Dyrran's shop. Were these two things connected… somehow?

The woman lying in the bed stirred, and all Paine's previous thoughts emptied out of her mind.

* * *

_**Exciting? I hope so! Chapter 3 was written recently in the past few days, but this one was written months ago. An argument that makes Rikku storm out and away to Baralai was the first thought for this whole story, so I did a lot of thought and research into why they might fight. Took a long time, I tell you! Tell me what you think; was it believable? How about Baralai's section? Anything that should be fixed?**_

_**-Icicle Streams**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thanks for all your reviews; keep reading to find out the pairing, because I'm giving NOTHING away in these author's notes until the very end! But I do enjoy your guesses, as it helps me understand if the hints and stuff I'm dropping is working... :D  
**_

_**And way back in Chapter 1, I accidently thanked LittleAlBhed for their correction instead of JustHaveFaith. Sorry about that! So thankyou JustHaveFaith for your review and correction, and thankyou LittleAlBhed for your reviews too (I'm glad you thought Baralai not sleeping with her made sense too!)**_

**_But I digress. Let's get going!_**

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the large windows, rousing Rikku from her sleep. She refused to open her eyes. She had a huge headache, a constant throbbing in the back of her head. Finally, the morning sun was too annoying, and she sat up. She looked around the neat, unfamiliar bedroom and the large double bed she had been sleeping in.

Where was she?

She was still wearing the t-shirt and shorts she'd been wearing the day before. She noticed an olive-green overcoat draped over a chair in the corner, the only familiar thing in the room.

Then she remembered.

There'd been Gippal… just the thought of him made her see red…She'd been crying, and needing someone to talk to, she'd turned to Baralai. He'd been so nice about it all, just like she expected. She remembered the wine… which explained the headache. But after the fourth glass, she was blank. She vaguely remembered strong arms carrying her… here maybe? Why was she in Baralai's bed? She was sure nothing had happened… of course not… she must've fallen asleep from the wine (alcohol and her didn't mix too well) and Baralai would have let her sleep here rather than going all the way back to her chambers... that made sense... didn't it?

Rikku glanced at the clock, which read eight thirty and stood up. She entered the empty kitchen; Baralai would've left for work by now.

She took a chocolate Danish from the wooden breadboard and sat down at the round kitchen table, decorated with a blue checkered tablecloth. There was a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice sitting by a yellow napkin. She smiled. Baralai was too nice.

It was very peaceful in the neat little kitchen. The adjoining lounge area had a huge window, leading onto a balcony. It showed a view of the whole city in all its grandeur, glittering in the bright sunlight .

Eager to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, Rikku drained her glass, grabbed a banana and headed out the door. She needed something to take her mind off that _pycdynt_, Gippal...

As she entered the hallway, something moved in the corner of her eye. Rikku turned, but there was no-one but her in the empty corridor. Shrugging, she continued on her way, down the lift.

She found herself in a maze of secluded courtyard with fragrant, colourful gardens. In the Greater Southern Quadrangle, she saw a tall, lean man with dark hair was sketching on a blank wall with charcoal.

"Good morning," she greeted brightly.

The man turned, revealing a young, attractive face half-hidden by his long side fringe.

"Good morning, Miss. Just doing my work."

Rikku admired the elegant, effortless lines he drew and looked forward to the finished artwork.

"You're Dyrran, right? Paine's friend?"

He grinned.

"That's right. And you'd be Lady Rikku, High Summoner Yuna's former guardian, right?"

She smiled and began peeling the banana.

"Why does everyone say 'Lady'? You can just call me Rikku."

"Okey doke."

"Are you going to be here long?"

"I'm going to be here for the next week or so, from half-past eight until three. I have to pick up my little sister from Academy."

"Ooh… what's her name?"

"Dahlia."

"That's such a pretty name. Does she look like you?"

Dyrran paused and she put the banana peel in her pocket.

"People have said she does, but I'm not really sure."

Rikku clapped her hands in delight.

"I love it when people look like their siblings. It's so cute."

His soft, warm laugh was infectious, and Rikku couldn't help grinning, despite herself.

"How old is she anyway?"

"She's going to be twelve in a month. I want to take her to Luca for her birthday; she's never seen the ocean before…"

Dyrran gazed off into space, then picked up his charcoal and began drawing again.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like once you're finished. Baralai told me you would be painting a mural here."

He paused.

"Praetor Baralai?"

Rikku nodded vigorously.

"Yup yup! Paine told us about you and your shop. Hey, we should go eat their sometime! And I can meet your sister!"

Dyrran hesitated. She thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eye, but then he smiled.

"It's a date."

* * *

Baralai sighed. His neck was so sore from sleeping on the couch and he couldn't concentrate on his work, he was so tired… and he couldn't stop thinking about _her_. He glanced at the clock. Twenty past four… He'd been reading the same file for the past two hours…

How were Rikku and Gippal? Had they made up yet?

Time seemed to trickle by as he read over the first paragraph again and again… _This mandate states…given that the funding…a) may be recalled for further review…_

Bells chimed and a watchman from the grounds yelled "5 o'clock!"

Baralai stood up abruptly, causing the papers on his lap to scatter. Finally, he could head home and sleep. For once, he didn't stay overtime. Glancing at the stack of paperwork on the desk and knowing he'd regret it tomorrow, he turned off the lights and headed out.

Once in his own chambers, Baralai ignored the expensive sofa which had given him such a sore neck the night before and sat by the large window overlooking Bevelle. The glass was warm from the sun and soothed his neck. Yevon, he was exhausted… his eyelids closed shut… he could hear voices somewhere down the corridor… a man and a woman… they were oddly familiar, but he was too sleepy to care…the girl's voice grew steadily louder and more hysterical… the man laughed coldly… he heard heavy footsteps heading away, and the girls sobs…

Suddenly the door burst open, revealing a tearful Rikku. Baralai immediately stood up and she strode across the kitchen and collapsed in his arms.

"Rikku, are you… what's wrong?"

She sobbed loudly but refused to speak. Her tears left his collar damp.

"Tell me, Rikku, what's the matter?"

The beads in her hair danced in the light as she shook and more tears poured out. Her mouth opened to speak, but all that came out were more sobs.

"Rikku?"

She wailed louder and buried her face in his green overcoat. No matter what he did, he couldn't calm her down, couldn't get her to stop crying. Her sadness… it was torturing him to see how hurt she was… How could he help her? He wanted so badly to stop her crying and see her smile. He just wanted her to stop.

In desperation, he lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. She was still trembling and tears were still trickling down her cheeks, but she was calmer. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her limp form. Her lips were warm and soft, but he could still feel her sadness that seemed to consume them both; it wasn't like the night before. They broke apart and she rested her head against his chest.

They had nothing to say; they were both speechless, and that seemed to be the saddest thing of all.

* * *

Gippal lay on the grassy hill where he and… _her_… had been sliding down ice. It seemed like so long ago…

He sighed. He'd never felt so melancholy. It had been a tough day.

Once he'd calmed down a bit after the argument, he was planning to go and make up with Rikku. There was no response when he knocked on the door… she must've gone out to clear her head or something…

In the morning, he woke up after a restless night without sleep, but strangely, he didn't feel tired. He skipped breakfast; there were more important things to do. He was going to find Rikku and set things straight… he couldn't stand fighting with her…

As he came round the corner, ready with an apology, he saw her…

Coming out of Baralai's chambers.

… so _that's_ where she was last night…

He immediately doubled back… he didn't want to face her, the _pedlr_… how could she? They have one little argument, and she runs to his best friend? Gippal's heart sank… he realised she had never felt the same way about him, never… that time in the rain had just been a delusion of his… hoping too hard…

He went about business as usual… it's what he did to stop him dwelling on bad thoughts… just keep busy…

"_Kuut sunhehk, _Gippal. (Good morning, Gippal)."

Gippal adjusted the Commsphere to get a clearer image of his second-in-command

"_Rammu, _Khanno. (Hello Khanno)"

"_Dra crebsahd ec dfu tyoc vnus _Bevelle. (The shipment is three days from Bevelle)"

Gippal raised an eyebrow.

"_Ycnayto? Dryd's cu vycd!_ _E drykrd fa fana cahtehk ed uvv haqd suhdr. _(Already? That's so fast! I thought we were sending it off next month.)"

"_Dra licdusan…ir, ra fyhdat ed yc cuun ec buccepma. _(The customer… uh, he wanted it as soon as possible.)"

Khanno turned and yelled at the workers behind to keep quiet. There was a lot of background noise; engines, voices and machina.

"_Fryna yna oui huf? _(Where are you now?)" questioned Gippal.

"_Ir… 500, 550 gemusadnac vnus dra_ Macalania Woods. _Fa'mm pa cdubehk eh _Bevelle _du naviam. _(Uh… 500, 550 kilometres from the Macalania Woods. We'll be stopping in Bevelle to refuel.)"

Gippal frowned. That wouldn't take a full three days to travel to Bevelle, would it? Maybe traversing the crystalline forests would make slow progress.

"_Kuut fung, _Khanno. _Fano avveleahd. _(Good work, Khanno. Very efficient)"

The older man nodded and stroked his small beard.

"_Dryhgs. Cen, aqlica sa, pid E haat du kad pylg du fung. Fa'mm caa oui eh dfu tyoc, syopa cuuhan. _(Thanks. Sir, excuse me, but I need to get back to work. We'll see you in three days, maybe sooner.)"

The Commsphere disconnected. It seemed like business was finally picking up. Khanno was a very efficient and logical man and without his help, Gippal might not have been able to start the Faction. They weren't that good friends, but there wasn't a better second-in-command then Khanno. He was a very clever engineer and business man, but he wasn't a people person like Gippal was; only people within the Faction knew who he was and how much work he'd put into building it up.

Around 5:15, Gippal decided to head into town and grab a bite to eat… he'd always wanted to try a Brave Bevelle Brownie…

As he came out of his chambers, a voice from the other side of the corridor called him.

"Gippal?"

He turned and saw _her_… She seemed pretty cheerful, with her bright smile and colourful clothes.

"Rikku," he said curtly.

She stared at him. He never called her by her real name.

"Um, how is everything?"

"Good, everything's great," he answered coldly.

"Oh… that's good…"

She trailed off awkwardly. Gippal didn't want to see her and her _fake_ smile anymore… that smile he'd grown to love so much…

"I need to go now."

He turned and headed down the opposite end of the corridor.

"Gippal, wait!"

She caught his arm firmly, but he refused to turn around. He didn't think he could ever look her in the eye again, not after what she did.

"Let go of me, Rikku."

Her hand gripped his arm tighter and pulled his shoulders round until he faced her.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, the fear poorly masked in her voice.

"Just let me go, ok?" he answered, turning away from her.

She threw his arm back violently, catching him off guard. The momentum spun him around to face her. Her lip were set in a frown and her cheeks were flushed dark red.

"You're more stubborn than I thought!" she yelled at him.

"Excuse me? You're the one who got all huffed up and stormed off."

His voice was calm and steady, but they could both feel the angry emotion behind it.

"Maybe I did, but so what? Maybe it _was _my fault, but none of this really matters, does it? Can't we make up, you stubborn pig?" she yelled and hurled her fist at him, but his reflexes were faster, and he caught her wrist.

"Shut up, you _pedlr_…"

Rikku's fist clenched at the insult, but he was stronger than her.

"I was going to… I couldn't find you last night… I tried to find you this morning…but then…"

Her fists tightened more in fear and her eyes widened with surprise and confusion.

"Then… what?"

"I ran after you once you stormed out, but I couldn't find you. Your room, it was empty… it was empty all night, wasn't it? Then I go to the effort of trying to find you in the morning…and then… and then…"

His grip on her wrist tightened, and she tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go. He pulled her closer until they were almost nose to nose, his fingers digging into her skin, pressing against the bone of her skinny arms. She trembled at the tone of his voice, and what was to come next.

"_E caa oui… _(I see you...)_"_

She shook her head, trying to deny it, trying to gain his sympathy, but he had had enough of her.

"…_lisehk…_(…coming…)"

"_Hu…_(No…)" she mouthed, but no sound came out as tears began to trickle from those emerald eyes he'd once thought so beautiful and innocent.

"…_vnus _rec_ nuus, oui_…(…from _his_ room, you…)"

"_Hu, _Gippal, _ed'c hud mega dryd_… (No, Gippal, it's not like that…)" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"…_oui _cmot_…_(…you _slut_…)"

"Gippal!" she cried, as tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.

He flung her wrist away roughly and she staggered backwards, but he walked away. She didn't need _him_ to pick her up.

"Gippal! _Hudrehk ajan… _(Nothing ever…)" she shrieked, her voice rising hysterically.

She threw her arms around his waist and clung on tightly, making his shirt damp from her tears. He couldn't explain it, but he began to laugh, not with joy and mirth, but a cold, low laugh that was completely alien to him.

"_E drukrd E mujat oui…E drukrd syopa, syopa oui mujat sa duu… ruf fnuhk E fyc_... (I thought I loved you... I thought maybe, maybe you loved me too... how wrong I was…)"

"Gippal! _E, E tet muja, muja oui… _(I, I did love, love you...)" she screamed shakily between sobs.

He wrapped his fingers around hers and roughly pried them off. She sank to her knees as he walked on.

"_Bmayca… _Gippal…_ E cdemm tu…_(Please… Gippal… I still do…)"

She grasped his ankle, almost tripping him. He turned and stared at her, her slight trembling form, her face red and stained with tears, her swirly eyes shining with desperation…

Gippal could never explain why afterwards, but he turned, unpitying, and walked away from the girl he loved.

* * *

"Is it on yet? It is? Oh!"

Paine glanced up at the sound of Yuna's voice floating out of the Commsphere in her room. The inn she and her father were staying in at the Moonflow wasn't the fanciest thing ever, but it was cheap and comfortable and came with decent a Commsphere connection, thanks to Shinra.

"Hi Yuna. How's Besaid?"

"It's great! Lulu and Wakka are in Kilika for a few days, so we're babysitting. Vidina's a bit of a handful, but he's so adorable!"

Paine rolled her eyes as Tidus appeared in the background, chasing after a redheaded toddler, who was holding a porcelain vase. Yuna smiled with a _'What can you do?'_ shrug.

"I'm glad you were able to find my connection so easily."

"Oh, the man at the front desk was very helpful. How is your mother?"

Paine flashed a rare smile.

"She's getting better. We had breakfast together, but she won't be able to leave for another few days."

"I'm so glad she's okay…"

"Yeah…"

Yuna paused, as if struggling with herself whether to say something.

"Come on Yuna, spit it out," said Paine with a small laugh. Yuna would always try to be so polite; she'd sometimes spend ages beating about the bush.

"Well..."

"Come on, Yuna..."

"Um... Is there something wrong with Rikku?" she blurted out.

Paine raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been trying to call her these past two days, but she's never there..."

"Maybe she-"

"…And then the one time she was there and we did connect, she didn't say much and she was all quiet and when I asked her what was wrong, she just smiled and said she had to go, and, and-"

"Slow down, Yuna!"

The brunette paused and took a deep breath after her long ramble.

"I can tell when she's faking being happy… Was she okay when you left for the Moonflow?"

Paine hesitated and tried to remember.

"She was happy when I left her. She actually wanted to come, but she didn't mind staying. I told Baralai and Gippal to look after her. She was happy though…"

Paine trailed off. Maybe she wasn't happy? Maybe it was just a façade? But surely she would've been able to tell if the lively Al Bhed that had come to be a best friend of hers had been acting…

"I'm really worried about her, Paine…"

Paine shuffled uneasily at the sight of her friend's concerned expression.

"I'll give her a call soon. I'm sure she's ok, Yuna."

"Yeah… Rikku always bounces back, right?" said Yuna hopefully, waiting for confirmation.

"That's Rikku," Paine reassured her.

Yuna smiled sadly and disconnected, leaving Paine to ponder what their Al Bhed friend was getting up to in Bevelle...

* * *

_**By the way, did it make sense how the conversation Baralai heard from inside his room was the same argument Rikku and Gippal were having in Gippal's perspective? Anything not make sense? It's hard for me to judge since I made up the story, you know what I mean?  
**_

_**-Icicle Streams**_

_**P.S. Thankyou to JustHaveFaith/LittleAlBhed (I definitely **_**knew_ that you were the same person under two names... I swear! I just forgot..._**_**) for the constructive criticism, and sorry for the mix up? **_

_**And thank you the rest of you readers for your reviews. It feels so rewarding to see that there's people out there, complete strangers even, who are reading (and hopefully enjoying!) what I've written. Thanks! :D  
**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry for the delay to post this; it had actually been written for a while (this was the last chapter I wrote during the Easter holidays before getting stuck) but I've been really busy. Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

Rikku closed her eyes and jumped. The water was icy cold against her skin but was refreshing and woke her up. She opened her eyes and gazed around at the glistening water that sank into shadowy depths. An elaborate system of roots from the forest surround her wove around the spring, their roots shining in a rainbow of crystalline colours. Everything was so still in the water… so tranquil… it wasn't silence, but muffled in the way only water can. She used to hate quiet, hate being alone, but for the past two days, she'd been on her own a lot… she couldn't face them. Not Baralai… she'd put him through so much, trying to fix everything. When she did see Baralai, they had nothing to say to each other… when she saw him, she'd just feel tears well up in her eyes and then pour out as she saw his face, so full of concern for her... he was too nice... it reminded her all of the pain… she was still kinda embarrassed by that kiss they'd shared, the smell of his cologne and his warm gentle hands… that kiss made her wonder what had happened that night she'd spent in his room… she dreaded the thought of the truth…

She couldn't face Gippal either… well, he wouldn't face her, the _pycdynt_… but what had she done? Maybe he knew how awful she truly was, eveb better than she herself did.

After floating curled up in the freezing water, she realised she'd forgotten she had to breathe. She surfaced and rested against a large rock on the edge of the water. Macalania Forest was so peaceful… she couldn't imagine it dying, fading away for ever…

"_Fading away for ever_…" she murmured.

Everything faded away eventually… these beautiful woods were just going to be the first.

"_Drec fyo. _(This way.)"

"_Cu drah E cyet…_(So then I said…)"

"_Hid vyn huf…Fa'mm pa eh _Bevelle _po dra yvdanhuuh. _(Not far now… We'll be in Bevelle by the afternoon.)"

Voices floated from the cleared pathways, along with the steady rumbling of machina. Rikku heaved herself slowly out of the water and grabbed her towel. She wandered over and saw the largest convoy of machina she'd ever seen since Operation Mi'ihen.

"Rikku! Taking a dip, huh?"

At the sound of her name, Rikku turned and waved with an automatic smile when she saw Nhadala wave at her. Behind her the transports carrying heavy machina and crates were roaring mechanically as they drove on.

"What's up? How come you're not in the desert?"

"I'm not really sure myself; I came here with a team of forty. Khanno said he needed some of our engineers; we specialise in wheel and weapon modifications. I think the guy who ordered the machina needs help assembling everything."

"What's he building?"

Nhadala shrugged.

"No idea. I don't deal with customer relations. Khanno or Gippal usually checks things out."

Rikku bit her lip at the sound of the Machine Faction leader's name.

"Nhadala! Yadna _fynds du dymg du oui ujan dra _Commsphere! (Yadna wants to talk to you over the Commsphere!)" called a man sitting on top of a giant armoured vehicle.

"_Ugyo! _See you later, Rikku. I need to talk to Yadna. She's in charge of the digs while I'm gone."

"See ya!"

The older girl vaulted onto a transport and Rikku, completely distracted from her own troubles, watched in awe as the seemingly endless train of vehicles and machina rumbled on through the forest.

* * *

He couldn't describe it, not with words, but Baralai felt strangely unsettled today. He already felt pretty… terrible, what with all the stress of work and then the whole Gippal and Rikku thing… he didn't know what to make of that. He knew he had to talk to them and clear everything up so it would be like before, but he could tell they were both avoiding him. Gippal must've found out about everything that happened that night, and he had no idea what he would say to him anyway. But Rikku… she always seemed so close to tears. Whenever he tried to talk to her, her eyes would become moist and it broke his heart to see her, see anyone so sad. After a while, she started avoiding him too... and Baralai just couldn't keep trying to make the effort to find them and sit them down to talk; it was so much easier just to leave them. He was so busy, so exhausted, and it was just too much. He couldn't take it anymore.

But it was weird though. On top of all of this, there was some underlying, uneasy feeling he had today… he knew something was going to happen. He had no idea what, or when, but all he knew was that it would happen, and it would be bad. And even weirder was that he was completely calm about it. He knew he should be worried, or at least feeling sad because his best friend wasn't speaking to him, but he felt completely empty. Numb. Blank. It was probably all the emotional stress lately or something… he didn't know… he didn't care…

"Praetor, sir?"

Baralai glanced up at the sound of the quiet knock at the door and his secretary's clear voice.

"Yes, Miss Dryada?"

"Um, the Machine Faction leader, Gippal, requested to meet you at 2 o'clock this afternoon, in the Lesser Southern Quadrangle, " answered the young brunette as she adjusted her glasses.

Baralai sighed heavily. So he and Gippal were finally going to talk. He was glad Rikku wouldn't be there; that courtyard was the most secluded in the whole palace with only one entrance from the Greater Southern Quadrangle.

"Thankyou. Can you cancel all my appointments from half-past one onwards? Reschedule them sometime during the next week."

"Certainly, sir."

She left and Baralai rested his forehead to the desk, pressing hard against the edge of the wood. Ignoring the uneasy feeling he had in his stomach, he grabbed some files and started reading.

* * *

Gippal stared at all the machina, so much more than he could ever have imagined. These elegant metal beasts, holding more power than one would expect… it was kinda funny; three years ago, they wouldn't even be allowed anywhere near the 'holy' city of Bevelle with these 'blasphemous monstrosities.'

"Good to see you, Gippal."

He turned and smiled when he saw Khanno. He had dark circles under his eyes, probably from working too late at night, but he seemed extremely excited.

"When did you guys get into Bevelle?"

"Yesterday afternoon," replied Khanno, pulling off his distinctive leather goggles. The custom gold detailing on the straps glistened in the sun, shining as brightly as his eyes.

"You should have told me. I wasn't expecting you until this evening."

"Sorry, Boss," said Khanno offhandedly.

Gippal shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, where the heck did all this machina come from?" he asked, staring at all the machina he didn't even realise the Faction had.

"We've been doing a lot of work while you've been gone these past two weeks."

"But Khanno," said Gippal, looking at the older man incredulously. "This is _months_, maybe even _years_ of work!"

"There was also a huge find in the desert a while ago; whole tanks and transports that only needed some fine-tuning before they were fully functional," he answered confidently.

"I never heard about this…"

Khanno laughed and slapped him on the back.

"Gippal, you think too much! Don't worry about it! Now," he said in a calmer tone of voice. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab a bite to eat and then it's back to work."

Gippal opened his mouth to speak, but Khanno left before he could say anything.

The huge amount of machina still puzzled him, but maybe Khanno was right. Maybe he did worry too much…

He glanced at his watch which read 1:52. _Cred_. He was going to be late.

Gippal hurried away from the loading bay and sprinted down the busy streets of Bevelle to where the hovers waited. He glanced at his watch anxiously as the hover engine roared to life and they set off for the palace. His mind trailed back to this morning, when Baralai's secretary had stopped him while he was on his way to see Khanno

.

"_Mr. Gippal, sir?"_

_He turned and saw Baralai's pretty young secretary, Miss Dryada._

"_Yes?"_

"_Praetor Baralai requested to see you at 2:05, in the Lesser Southern Quadrangle. He has a meeting just before, so he'll be five minutes late."_

_Gippal exhaled deeply. He hadn't seen Baralai for the past three days. He had no idea what he'd do once he saw the praetor… he still couldn't believe what Baralai had done…_

"_Tell the praetor I'll see him then."_

Once in the palace, Gippal checked his watch again. He had about three minutes. He descended some stone steps into the interlocking gardens and courtyards. He enterd the largest quad, where there was a half-painted mural and an abandoned paint can. The gate leading to where Baralai was waiting was on the other side… Gippal's steps slowed and his breathing intensified. He wondered what the praetor had to say for himself.

Suddenly there was a loud bang.

It was a familiar sound, unmistakable to Gippal.

A gunshot.

Something soared through the air from the next quadrangle. A large purple pistol, still smoking from the just fired gunshot. Gippal picked it up and examined it. He had never seen anything like it before; its style was completely unfamiliar. But he barely registered it; there were more important things to see to.

Gippal sprinted through into the adjoining courtyard and gasped. Baralai was lying on the ground, dark blood slowly spreading from his side. He seemed to be struggling with breathing.

"Baralai!" cried Gippal, crouching next to the wounded man.

"'Lai, you're going to be ok," he said, fumbling for a potion. He broke it open and emptied the contents over the wounds. Gippal prayed silently that it would help; he didn't have anymore.

Baralai opened his eyes and tried to lift his head up.

"Gippal?" he whispered hoarsely before collapsing unconscious.

"_Cred_…"

Gippal tried to stop the bleeding with a large clean handkerchief, but it barely helped. He didn't know any healing magic; that was always Baralai's job in the Squad.

"It'll be alright, 'Lai. I need to get help."

He stood up and glanced at the injured man, anxious to leave him alone. But he needn't have worried. Before he could leave, there was already the sound of heavy footsteps and an armed guard of soldiers appeared, attracted by the sound of the gunshot. It'd be ok… 'Lai would be ok… he almost laughed with relief, when the head of the guard spoke.

"Get a stretcher for the praetor, and grab the Al Bhed!"

* * *

Paine was sitting next to her mother, checking out the news while her father was frying up a fish for lunch he'd managed to catch after several days of trying. Her mother was much better now; she was allowed to leave the infirmary. But Paine was still going to stay until she was healthy enough to head home to Bevelle.

"There has been an important update on the St. Bevelle shooting," said Shelinda, in a side street while a huge crowd had formed in the main road behind her.

"Yesterday at 2pm, Praetor Baralai of New Yevon was shot within the Palace of St. Bevelle."

Paine's eyes widened. That was… impossible!

"Guards arrived at the Lesser Southern Quadrangle shortly after the gunshot was heard and the leader of the Machine Faction, Gippal, was found at the scene and taken for questioning. His fingerprints have now been found on the pistol which was found in the adjoining courtyard and was discovered to be the weapon."

"What?" cried Paine suddenly, standing up. Her mother gently grabbed her hand and softly tried to tug her to the couch, but Paine ignored her.

"The Praetor is still in a critical condition, having suffered a gun wound to the chest. Meanwhile, a large group of Al Bhed from within Bevelle and from a passing transport of machina from Djose have gathered outside the palace in protest to the detention of their leader. New Yevon soldiers met with protesters early this morning in an attempt to control the crowd. Several people, Al Bhed and New Yevon soldiers alike, have been injured. Here we have second-in-command at the Machine Faction, Khanno."

Shelinda turned to a bearded, muscular Al Bhed man next to her who was grimacing fiercely.

"They did not give Gippal a fair trial! Late yesterday afternoon, a few Faction officials and myself went to the palace in hope of speaking to him, but were turned away rudely and violently! Now he is alone with no-one to defend him, so now we wait here until we are allowed to see him! We come in peace to help our leader who is falsely imprisoned, but are refused entry!" he cried with a thick accent.

"So you are sure of-" began Shelinda, but she was interrupted by a loud explosion of a hover in the street which was now burning. Khanno turned and sprinted to it, while Shelinda signalled to her spherecam holder to follow.

"_Drao cad dra viam dyhg uh vena! _(They set the fuel tank on fire!)" yelled an Al Bhed woman while they attempted to extinguish the flaming hover. Shelinda turned to face the spherecam which was steadily growing fuzzier.

"As… violence…protests…Bevelle…" came her voice in between yells and crackles before she disconnected completely.

"We'll bring you more details as they emerge. That was Shelinda in Bevelle," said the newsreader from the station in Luca. "Meanwhile…"

But Paine didn't listen. She immediately headed to the Commsphere to call Brother and Yuna; they were going to Bevelle.

* * *

_**Exciting, no? I hope so! Tell me your thoughts on this chapter! And I'm sorry to say, it may take me longer to add each new chapter, because from here on I need to write, not just edit and add to what I'd written previously. But I will definitely finish this story, even if it takes me years. I **_hate**_ dead threads! _**

**_-Icicle Streams :D  
_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey all! I'm so sorry for taking so long to publish another chapter! I was heaps busy during the term (I had this HUGE maths assignment and I was helping with the costumes for the school musical) and I had heaps of trouble deciding what Rikku's part in this chapter should be like. I still don't know if I'm fully satisfied with it, so let me know what you think. I WILL finish this story, no matter what!_**

**_-Icicle Streams_**

* * *

"But you've got to let me see him!"

The two guards shook their heads and Rikku couldn't help bouncing around with anxiety, trying to figure out how to get out. She'd been told politely to remain in her new chambers, deep in the heart of the palace, for her own safety by one of the senior leaders of the New Yevon party. The Praetor had been the target for an assassination attempt after all. He had assured her that he was perfectly fine, but that it was 'imperative' that she stay in her chambers for her own safety. But once he'd left, his underlying motives became clear once these two guards arrived on the scene, supposedly for her protection, when she realised they weren't going to let her leave the room. At all.

"Sorry ma'am, but we can't let you leave- uh, we can't let you see him," said one of the guards politely.

"Why not? I'm his friend!"

"Only… uh… _authorised_ persons can see the praetor," answered the older with a gruff voice.

"_Authorised?_" she yelled, almost spitting the word out of her mouth. How could they not let her see Baralai? Seriously, he'd just been _shot_, in case anyone noticed. She needed to see him… she knew he was fine, that's what the healers had said, but she had to see it for herself…she just had to…

The older guard nodded with a smug smile on his lips.

"That's right. _Authorised_," he answered firmly.

The younger guard smiled apologetically, but Rikku took no notice.

"Who's authorised then?"

The bearded guard paused to think, then smirked.

"Not you. That's all you need to know," he replied, nodding triumphantly.

Fuming, she stormed away from the door towards her sleeping chambers. This was ridiculous. The Commsphere connection in her room had mysteriously disconnected, coinciding with the appearance of these two goons. There was definitely something up. First Baralai gets shot (she still couldn't understand how no-one knew who the shooter was) and these two guards show up to keep her prisoner in her own room. She wondered whether Gippal was under guard too. Surely if she was in danger, then he, as Baralai's (Former? She wasn't sure about the anything anymore) close friend and head of the Machine Faction was too?

There was something else strange, something else that kept tugging at the back of her brain, that was significant, but she couldn't quite remember, couldn't quite put her finger on it… nothing felt real, how could any of it be real…

"…she's quite put out that she can't see the Praetor, but otherwise she seems fine…" came the younger guard's voice from outside her door. "Quite calm about it all too."

The older guard snorted loudly. Rikku responded with an indignant one of her own and pressed her ear to the door.

"I'm glad to hear she is alright…"

Rikku started when she heard this new voice. Was it… Isaaru?  
"…though I still don't understand why she need to be kept under such strict surveillance."

The older guard snorted again, much to Rikku's disgust and contempt.

"This is the girl capable of anything. She was even the High Summoner's guardian-"

"Exactly. She was one of Lady Yuna's most trusted guardians and-"

"That's exactly why we need to watch her. Who knows what damage she could do-"

"Why would she do any harm? She is Lady Yuna's cousin and loyal companion and-"

"She's an Al Bhed! She's an Al Bhed, just like _him_. She's probably in on it to-"

"Just because she's the same race as him?" came Isaaru's voice, completely incredulous.

"They can't be trusted-"

"But, sir…" came the younger guard's voice meekly.

"And she probably feels a loyalty to those bastards rioting in the streets. That's why we can't let her contact any on the outside. Why else would we have moved her to a room without windows? Because otherwise _she'll give inside secrets to them_."

The young guard let out an "oh!" of naïve respect.

"That's ridiculous!" cried Isaaru. "I tell you, soldier, I am all for justice. But there is no need to imprison Lady Rikku like this! I grant you, _Gippal_ is a different story altogether, having attempted to shoot our beloved Praetor, but…"

Rikku didn't hear anymore. Her knees buckled and she slumped against the door in a cold sweat, trembling, trying to convince herself that none of this was happening, it wasn't true, that Baralai hadn't been shot, _that_ _Gippal wouldn't_...

And then she screamed.

* * *

He gasped, his breaths erratic, choked. He was bleeding, bleeding badly. He tried to staunch the flow, but as though he kept reaching towards the wound, he couldn't quite reach it, touch it… why was his blood purple? Why was it glowing when everything around him was so black and hazy?

His vision was blurry; he could barely see his own hand in front of his face… was it is his hand? He couldn't move, he couldn't feel himself moving, but that hand kept coming closer, closer…

And then he saw that soldier. He was just a dark shadow, a hazy blur of red and black. And he was dancing, dancing like crazy, holding his rifle above his head and jumping around wildly. The sight of it gripped Baralai's heart with fear. As the figure danced, his heartbeat quickened. He wanted to turn away, to run from that horrific creature, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak.

It pointed its gun to the air, and strange flashing lights erupted from the tip… then they turned into Pyreflies… why were they black and red? Why did the Pyreflies have faces? And why were they turning into more… more… more soldi…

The priestess watching over the Praetor jumped and quickly ran for the Healer.

* * *

"Damn it, let me talk to somebody at least!"

The guard shook his head and Gippal swore under his breath.

"Don't I get a fair trial?"

The guard sighed (clearly he was as bored as Gippal was) and walked towards the cell. He grabbed the chair standing by the door, spun it around and sat, resting his elbows on the chair's back.

"You'll get your chance to a trial," he answered, taking off his helmet. "But if I were you, I'd enjoy your time here while I still could. This cell is nothing compared to where they'll send you."

Gippal sighed. He'd heard one of the guards stopping by tell this guard (whose name seemed to be Lliam, from what Gippal had overheard) about how he had seen Gippal shoot the Praetor himself, and how he had fought him to the ground and wrestled the pistol from him with his bare hands. Gippal was sorely tempted at that point to question how they could have found his fingerprints on the gun then, but didn't want to risk getting into more trouble.

It was clear from Lliam's awed responses and the other guard's smug expression that the soldiers who'd captured him had told tales of their daring exploits and that there was barely a single person in Bevelle who questioned his guilt.

"So when is my trial, then?" he asked in a bored voice.

"As soon as everything's under control, I suppose," replied Lliam as he ran his hand through his auburn hair.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they can't assemble the High Court while all those Al Bhed rioting in the streets. They declared a State of Emergency yesterday. No one's allowed into Bevelle, no one's allowed out."

"There're Al Bhed rioting in the streets? Why?"

"Apparently, you're quite popular amongst them," said Lliam with a smile. Then he seemed to remember that he was joking with the man who'd _shot _the Praetor and hastily stood up and turned away, leaving Gippal alone to think.

State of Emergency? There weren't that many Al Bhed in Bevelle to cause that much trouble, unless they'd somehow shot Baralai a second time. And why would they want to riot, anyway? He was pretty sure he was well-liked by Al Bhed all around Spira, but who the heck starts fighting in the streets for one guy, who they wouldn't even be sure is innocent? Then he remembered all the Al Bhed who'd stopped in Bevelle from the Machine Faction… they _definitely _liked him… but even with that many people, doesn't it take several days, maybe even weeks to cause a State of Emergency? Yesterday… that would've only been three days after Baralai had been shot and he'd been imprisoned!

He looked up at the sound of a relief guard coming in to swap with Lliam. Their conversation instantly (and unsurprisingly) went straight to Gippal, who sighed and slumped into his hard prison bed.

* * *

Normally, whenever Yuna was this stressed out, Paine would just laugh at her. But then, she was pretty stressed out too. While she was waiting at the Moonflow for Brother and the others to swing by to pick her up, she couldn't stop thinking about it; the thought of Baralai dying… she couldn't even contemplate it. And then the idea that _Gippal_ had shot him…It was that cave all over again… the Den of Woe…

At least onboard the Celsius, she could keep busy. They had to figure out what to do. Of course, Yuna wasn't really helping.

Firstly, Yuna was worried about Rikku. They'd lost all communication with her since Baralai was… shot. Then she couldn't believe that Baralai had been shot, and by _Gippal _no less (…no, it couldn't have been him…) And then she was scared for all the people in Bevelle who could be hurt in the fighting… and on top of all that she still felt bad for having to call Wakka and Lulu home from their trip to Kilika to care for Vidina, since Blondie (who was wiping up milk he'd spilt on the Bridge while Brother was pulling at his Mohawk, yelling at him) had opted to come with her to Bevelle.

"If you two could stop for a moment," said Shinra, whom they had picked up from the Mi'ihen Highroad Travel Agency on the way to get Paine.

Brother and Tidus stopped, Brother's muscular arms bulging as he pulled them across his chest and Tidus ready to throw the milk-soaked sponge in an impressive Sphere Shot.

Shinra turned in his chair and beckoned every to come to his computer.

"All attempts to contact people within Bevelle have failed. But," he added, typing furiously at the keyboard. "We can watch the news on the Commsphere Network to get an idea of what's happening."

"Sooooo… Let us see what is happening!" cried Brother, his little argument with Tidus completely forgotten.

Shinra nodded and continued typing away. With a fuzzy squeak, they were connected.

"Of course, this is just information for the masses," said Shinra knowingly. "It's not detailed enough for us to get some _actual_ use from-"

"Shhh!" exclaimed everyone as Shelinda began to speak.

"Good afternoon, viewers," greeted Shelinda. "The conflict in Bevelle intensifies as an Al Bhed man, whose identity has not been disclosed, becomes the first casualty of the fighting…"

"Oh my…" whispered Yuna, holding her hand to her mouth.

"The man, aged 17, was killed in an explosion yesterday afternoon when the fuel tank of a hover was deliberately lit. This is the third hover to have been targeted. This has prompted New Yevon authorities in Bevelle to declare a State of Emergency in what some people say is the worst fighting Bevelle has seen since the Machina War over a thousand years ago. Residents in the city have been advised to remain indoors at all times during the conflict which social analysts predict could last weeks. All traffic into and out of Bevelle has been stopped completely as blockades have been put in place at all roads leading into the city."

"Good thing we're coming in by air," joked Tidus with a smile.

He wasn't smiling when Paine hit him the back of his head.

"Leaders of the New Yevon party have attempted to initiate peace talks, but Khanno, second-in-command at the Machine Faction has refused to meet with them. This is Shelinda reporting in Bevelle."

"Thanks Shelinda," said the news anchor in the Luca Studio. "In other news…"

Shinra disconnected and turned to face the others.

"Why wouldn't he want to meet with the guys at New Yevon?" asked Tidus, looking puzzled.

"Khanno is a stubborn guy," answered Buddy. "He wouldn't take that man's death lightly."

"Still…"

"I don't understand how it became so violent," mused Shinra. "A protest leading to a State of Emergency in three days? They must be really angry about it all, or…"

"Or?" prompted Yuna.

"Why are they so angry, Shinra?" asked Paine.

The boy shook his head.

"I'm just a kid."

Paine sighed. He was the smartest person she knew, even at such a young age. But he was still just a little boy.

"It still doesn't make sense that Khanno wouldn't want to start peace talks. I mean, isn't that the fastest way to get Gippal out of prison?" asked Tidus, scratching his head.

No one said anything, but he had a point. This whole conflict was because the New Yevonites were angry that Baralai was shot, and the Faction was pissed that Gippal was imprisoned. So why wouldn't Khanno want to meet with them?

Paine's thoughts were interrupted when the siren began to blare. The lights flashed, casting everything in a red light. What was happening? The ship lurched, throwing them all to the ground. Buddy jumped into the cockpit, trying to steady it.

"I told you it wouldn't be easy to get into Bevelle," sang Shinra as he typed away at his computer.

"What's happening?" asked Yuna, grabbing onto the railing.

"Since it's a State of Emergency, they've set up auto-defences to all non-Bevelle aircraft."

"So… they're shooting at us?" said Tidus, tightening his grip around Yuna and moving his other hand to his sword.

The Celsius shook slightly, but Buddy seemed to have it mostly under control. Shinra laughed at Tidus's question.

"Not that drastic. Their main computer tries to override our auto-navigation, sending us coordinates to land in the Calm Lands."

Brother's arms flailed wildly as he bounced around the bridge. He was more like Rikku than he though, but no one was going to admit that to either of them.

"WHAT? They cannot do that to _us_! Shinra, _tu cusadrehk ypuid ed_! (Shinra, do something about it!)"

"_Ymnayto yrayt uv oui_. (Already ahead of you)," he answered confidently. "It's impossible for them to outsmart _me_!"

"I'm bringing the ship down to land in Braska Square. No way are we landing inside the palace," called Buddy from the cockpit, expertly maneuvering the ship to land.

Paine drew her sword, readying herself as the landing platform was lowered. The din and chaos outside still shocked her, but she gritted her teeth and led them into the city.

* * *

**_So what do you think? Any tips or constructive criticism is welcome!_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Oh, it's been too long since I've updated Bevelled Edge! But I really want to do it right, and I'm just having a lot of trouble getting the words out. So please let me know if there is **anything** I can improve on, because I like this story too much :)

* * *

**_The door slammed into her as she sat slumped on the floor, hugging her knees. Rikku looked up as Isaaru jumped back, startled and embarrassed at having swung the door open into her.

"Lady Rikku? I thought I heard you scream."

She wiped her eyes and stood up, trembling slightly. She stared at the ceiling, blinking the tears away.

"I'm... I'm fine Isaaru. There's nothing to worry about."

What a lie! Gippal had shot Baralai! No, it wasn't true... it wasn't true... Gippal didn't shoot him... Gippal wouldn't do that...

But then doubt would settle in, creeping in at the back of her mind. Everyone was saying Gippal had done it. Maybe everyone was wrong? But then, maybe everyone was right. She'd never felt so alone, confined to this small, dark living area with no-one to turn to... when they had faced Sin, when they had faced Vegnagun, they had done so together... but now she had no one.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked Isaaru tentatively after a long pause.

"No thank-"

She stopped mid-sentence. She may not have Yuna or Paine, or the other guardians... but she had Isaaru.

"Actually, there is," she said, forcing herself to smile. She was good at that now, having done so every day during the Pilgrimage. And now was a time to smile.

"You're going to help me escape."

Rikku couldn't help letting a genuine smile break upon her lips at how low his jaw had dropped

* * *

_You thought I was gone?_

Baralai fell forward, flashing lights flying from him as he hit the inky darkness that was the ground. That voice... he hadn't heard him, hadn't felt his presence for over a year. It couldn't be... he had gone on to the Farplane with Lenne... hadn't he?

_It's time to finish what we started._

He turned and saw him, wielding a dark blade, dripping a glistening purple substance from its wicked edge. The mere sight of it made Baralai tremble, a half-strangled scream that would remain caught in his throat. The other raised his sword arm, pointing it at Baralai, ready to charge. But then as he rushed at him, he realised that the blonde was carrying a pistol... and that it wasn't Shuyin running at him, but Gippal.

_Don't you know Nooj meant to shoot you? He was just doin' what we all wanted._

He readied the gun with a loud click, his prosthetic machina arm steadying it... Nooj?

_Ready to die like you were supposed to?_

And as his former captain prepared to kill him, Baralai froze, trying to ready himself for death, that cold, sweet embrace that scared him so. But as Paine...

_Why..?_

... as Paine…as she pulled the trigger, he found he was ready for the death that descended upon him...

* * *

"The Praetor is dead!"

Gippal sat up as a guard burst into the room, proclaiming the news.

"No, that can't be!" cried Lliam, slumping into the chair.

Gippal's heart stopped and he turned cold. Baralai? He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be... No... it was all a big lie, Baralai wasn't dead...

Lliam stood up from his chair and turned to Gippal, his expression heavy and drawn.

"Get out of here," said the young guard, gripping hard onto the jail bars.

"What?"

He didn't understand. Baralai was dead, and everyone thought he was the killer. So why was that redheaded boy staring at him with such an angry determination?

"Get up, Gippal."

Lliam started to shake the bars violently, causing the door to rattle.

"Get up, Gippal! We don't have much time. Get up!"

Huh? What was he saying? And why was his voice sounding so oddly feminine?

"_Tysh ed,_ (Damn it,) Gippal, wake up!"

Gippal sat up from his hard prison bed, gasping for breath. He saw a glistening pyrefly circle his head before floating away between the bars.

"Rikku?" he asked, surprised to see her on the other side of his jail cell.

She sighed with relief and let go of the bars she had been rattling to wake him.

"_Cryd…_ Rikku, is Baralai alright?" he asked hurriedly, jumping to his feet and running to the bars.

"What?

"Is he… is he ok?"

…_Was he still alive?_

Rikku brushed her hair out of her face and shrugged.

"Well, as ok as you can be if someone's shot you," she joked. "Look, the healers said he was still in a serious condition, but they have high hope for him. He should be fine," she added at the look on his face.

Gippal closed his eye and exhaled deeply. It was just a dream… but what was that pyrefly doing then?

Opening his eye again, he saw her staring at him with a concerned look on her face. After the immediate relief at the news Baralai wasn't dead, reality returned and Gippal stared at her, confused. He was glad to see her, a familiar face, but why was she here? He hadn't spoken to her for what, a week? Not since he'd seen her coming out of Baralai's room… What the heck was she doing here, visiting _him _of all people?

"What are you doing here?" he asked, standing up to talk.

"I had to come... I had to come see you! I had to know that you were ok. Isaaru was really nice and helped me sneak in here," she replied, turning around and beaming at the nervous-looking man keeping watch at the door.

Much to his surprise, she grabbed his hand through the bars and gripped it tightly, her hand warm and comforting. She was worried about _him_. She'd come here to see he was ok, despite everything they'd been through during the last few weeks.

"Have you seen Baralai?" he asked. He didn't know why, but he needed to know.

She shook her head.

"Not yet. I know he's in good hands; he'll be ok. It's you I'm worried about, being here all alone."

Rikku had come to see him first, not Baralai. So what did that mean? Was it just because he didn't have anybody, here in prison, like she had said? Or did she… No, of course she didn't…

"I can't believe what happened!" she continued on, shaking her head sadly. "I can't believe someone shot Baralai and you're in prison!"

"I guess Baralai's used to it," he joked grimly.

He didn't expect her to turn so pale at his remark. He felt her grip on his hand loosen, almost as if she was pulling away slightly.

"You didn't… did you?" she whispered, her eyes full of fear.

He slowly let go of her hand and stared at her, incredulous. _Cred_, what was he thinking? Of course she still loved Baralai. She didn't care for Gippal at all. She didn't even trust him not to shoot the damn guy.

"Are you serious?"

"_E's paehk cesso_… (I'm being silly…)" she said with a little laugh. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't. It's just that… everyone says…oh, I dunno."

Gippal smiled sadly. It was true. Besides Rikku, no-one else in the palace doubted his guilt.

"Yeah, everyone says that, huh?"

"I know it's not true though. But what did happen though?"

"I got a message from Baralai's secretary to meet him at the Lesser Southern Quadrangle at 2:05. I was on my way, when I heard the gunshot. I didn't see who fired it though."

She nodded slowly, her brow wrinkled in concentration.

"Hmm… But how come your fingerprints were on the gun?"

Gippal grimaced and ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

"Whoever fired it threw it over the wall. It was a big purple pistol, a really weird make, and I was an idiot and picked it up to see what it was. And now they're sure I did it and I'm stuck in here, awaiting trial," he replied dryly.

He started slightly when she grabbed his hand suddenly and gripped it tight. He could feel her trembling as she held his hand.

"I'm going to find out who did it, Gippal. I'm going to clear your name and make sure the _pycdynt _who framed you and shot Baralai gets what he deserves," she said determinedly, her eyes blazing. The corners became shiny and a teardrop began to flow her cheek. He reached out to wipe it away… when Isaaru called her name and she turned.

"Lady Rikku, we must leave."

She nodded and turned back to face the jail.

"I have to go now Gippal, before the guards come for the evening watch and notice I'm gone."

"Wait, you're under guard too? They can't do that! Why?"

"Well, you're an Al Bhed, and I'm and Al Bhed, and they think you shot the Praetor, so…" she said with a little smile.

"Rikku, we must go, now!" called Isaaru.

"Goodbye," she whispered and hurried off.

Which left Gippal alone and extremely confused about everything, but he was so damn relieved to see her, it didn't matter.

* * *

"So what's the plan?"

Paine turned to Yuna, who clenched her fists and nodded.

"We should find Khanno, figure out what's happening and what we can do."

"Maybe seeing Yuna out there could help calm people down," came Buddy's voice through the comm. system. "Me and Brother are going to land further from the fighting so we can make the supply drop."

"Make sure you give out every last bit of rations. The people could be stuck indoors for a long time," answered Yuna as the airship rose and flew off into the distance.

Paine pursed her lips, silently praying that the people of Bevelle wouldn't have to suffer too long. Would the food rations be necessary? They were going to stop this fighting...

"Lady Yuna!"

The group turned to see Nhadala running towards them, a worried expression on her face.

"Nhadala, this is Tidus," greeted Yuna, indicating to her husband who nodded politely.

"Pleasure," replied the Al Bhed quickly. "But Yuna, where's Rikku?"

"She's... she's inside the palace."

Nhadala gasped, then cocked her hip and shook her head in her other hand.

"_E ruba cra ec ymnekrd... _(I hope she is alright...)" she murmured.

"Rikku_'mm pa ugyo... E ghuf cra femm pa,_ (Rikku'll be okay... I know she will be)" Tidus assured her kindly, surprising the Al Bhed. Paine couldn't help noticing his tone; he wasn't saying it just for Nhadala, but for himself too.

"It's time we got moving," interrupted Shinra, pulling out a digital map of Bevelle and sliding his dextrous fingers along the touch screen. "Let's head to the Highroad; I bet Khanno would be there, leading the protesters," suggested Paine.

"Probably. Come, we'll take one of the hovers," replied Nhadala, heading over to the machina on the other side of the road.

Paine hesitated, and the others turned to look at her. She eyed the green vehicle with apprehension; what was to say this hover wasn't sabotaged, just like the others?

"It's fine. Khanno told me he had every hover checked this morning. Besides, this loading dock is nowhere near the palace. There's no way one of those Yevonites could have come have tampered with it."

Not fully convinced, Paine relented and followed the others walking towards the vehicle.

"Hey Shinra," said Paine, stopping and turning around. The other's followed suit

"Yes?"

"Any secret entrances or anything leading to the Palace that you know about?"

"Yeah! If we could get inside…" said Tidus excitedly.

"I'll have to run a search of my entire data base. Anything like that wouldn't be marked on New Yevon's official Bevelle map and-"

"You can do that while we're on the hover," interrupted Nhadala impatiently, nodding towards the vehicle a few metres away.

Paine bit her lip and continued to examine the map while the Al Bhed walked towards the hover behind her. She liked the woman, but Nhadala rubbed her the wrong way sometimes, with her stubbornness and inability to listen to what other people had to say…although, Paine had to admit, she also admired the way she could interrupt people so easily. But she'd never really gotten over the way she had always taken advantage of Yuna, back when the Gullwings were still a trio.

Suddenly Paine flew forward as a huge bang louder than anything she'd heard before erupted behind her. Her eyes shut as she slid across the paved road, the stones grazing her exposed skin. Something scorching hot had pierced her back, burning the flesh around the wound. Doing her best to ignore the searing pain, she opened her eyes and looked around. Yuna lay on the ground beside her, looking relatively unharmed since Tidus had broken her fall. Paine stood up slightly and turned around towards the source of the explosion.

The hover was engulfed in flames, its metal frame twisted and distorted from the force of the explosion. The smell of burning oil filled the air, along with a heat Paine had only experienced the likes of during their battle with Ifrit.

"Another hover explosion..?" gasped Nhadala as she struggled to her feet before stumbling again.

"A motion detection bomb," answered Shinra. He seemed uninjured; his protective jumpsuit had served him well. "I thought I was picking up minor sphere waves before. I imagine it was secured to the engine and designed to go off if it sensed movement within three or four metres. Although, why you'd design a bomb that would go off _before_ you come close enough for it to be fatal is beyond me. It seems the bomb had a relatively small blast radius for a device of its type."

"Nhadala, I thought you said Khanno had these all checked. I thought he said these were safe," said Tidus, wiping away a trail of blood that had dripped from his bleeding lip and helping Yuna to her feet.

"He did," she answered quietly, clearly as disillusioned and confused as the rest of them. "I don't understand... there's no way any Yevonites could have come and tampered with it..."

Paine gazed at the blazing inferno before them, wondering how this could have happened while the while the Al Bhed next to her sank to her knees.

* * *

_**Man, I should really say sorry for the whole "Baralai's DEAD! Lol, jks, he's not!" **_

_**But I thought it was interesting, with the whole pyreflies that connect us all thing (did that make sense? :P)**_

_**Tee hee hee, I'm still laughing about the 'lol, jks!' part :D  
**_


	9. Chapter 9

**_Man, it's been a long time since I posted for this one... I bet everyone who was following me has moved on, hey? But I promised to continue... really, I ought to have posted this a while ago, seeing as this chapter has been written for at least 6 months... soz bro :P_**

* * *

Rikku paced up and down, up and down within her tiny bedroom. What the heck could she do now? Sure, visiting Gippal had boosted both their morale, but now what? She was the only freakin' Al Bhed in this damn palace... She needed more information... you can't prove someone's innocence without proof, and that only came after sifting through the information... But then frustration burst back into her mind... where could she start? What the heck was she supposed to do!

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a girl yelling hysterically outside in the corridor, while the unfortunately familiar voice of the older guard argued back.

"... But I _need_ to see Lady Rikku!"

At the mention of her own name, she rushed out to find a young brunette woman on the floor, weeping. She seemed vaguely familiar to Rikku, but she couldn't quite place the face; her attention was on the tense situation.

The bearded guard cocked his gun menacingly, while his younger companion shuffled uncomfortably.

"What are you doing out here? Get back inside!" barked the guard, gesturing violently towards the room with his gun.

That _vilgehk _guard... Rikku was about to throw all discretion out the window and punch his face in, but was momentarily distracted with the girl screamed louder.

"I must speak to her!" the girl cried in between sobs.

"And _you!_" snarled the guard, turning back towards the girl. "You can't come in. No visitors allowed. No exceptions!"

Rikku rolled up her sleeves and took a step towards him... that guard was gonna finally get what's coming for hi-

"_What_ is going on here?" asked Isaaru incredulously, looking from the guard to the woman on the floor.

"I bear an urgent message for Lady Rikku," answered the young woman, removing her glasses to wipe her eyes.

At the sound of the girl's clear pronunciation of 'message', something clicked in Rikku's head; it was Dryada, Baralai's secretary.

"No. I can't let you see her without some higher authorisation-"

"In that case, I authorise you to see her," said Isaaru gently.

Rikku felt her anger subside, replaced by a little smile. Go Isaaru!

"What? You can't do that!"

"She needed to pass an important message onto Lady Rikku, and you needed someone with authority to allow her in, so I've solved all our problems at once. Please go through," he said to the two girls, letting them through the door before standing in front to prevent the guards from entering.

They entered the room while Isaaru and the guard continued to argue in the corridor.

"What's up?" she asked the brunette casually. She had to put on the cool, calm and collected mask, as a front to other people, but also to herself. Lately, it took all her determination not to break everything in the room and burst into tears, but right now, curiosity was serving as a pretty good distraction.

Dryada hesitated and glanced back at the closed door she had entered in.

"We'll talk in my bedroom; they won't hear us there."

Rikku led her into the cramped bedroom and gestured to a chair while she sat on her bed. The girl paled and her lip trembled as more tears threatened to spill out.

"I'm Praetor Baralai's secretary, Dryada..." she introduced unnecessarily with a shaky voice. "I'm sorry for intruding in on you like this, but I _had_ to tell someone... The Praetor... he was shot... he's dying, and it's all my fault," she whispered and broke into tears again.

Rikku went cold...

..._she was the one who shot him? And framed Gippal somehow?_

Burning anger overcame her, while her heart seemed to pause in horror and disgust at the weeping girl before her. This girl who had caused all this! What a _vylgehk pedlr_! But it couldn't have been her, could it? _Why?_

"I... I didn't know he was going to shoot the Praetor... He was so kind... I never dreamed of what he'd do..."

"Who?" Rikku asked her urgently as relief washed over her. The thought that this girl had started this, this war with her own two hands, a girl little older than herself...

But if it wasn't her, then who was the bastard who did it?

"_Who_?" she yelled, as the girl rocked in her seat. Why couldn't she answer her now? She _needed _to know.

Maybe she was a little too harsh, now that the brunette gulped hurriedly while her eyes were wide with shock. She felt kinda guilty now, actually.

"Well... he didn't shoot the Praetor himself... Oh, what have I done?" she cried before burying her face in her hands.

Rikku took her hands in her own, her fingers icy cold and trembling. Her sobbing slowed as she took longer, deeper breaths.

"Dryada, tell me what happened," she said gently.

"I met him about two months ago... he spoke so kindly to me, and he was so charming, even for an Al Bhed..."

Rikku bit her lip, but said nothing. It had taken long enough to calm the girl down without interrupting her.

"He told about how he dreamed of restoring all of Spira to all its glory before Sin... of how the Faction was going to make life better for every in Spira, and how they needed the help of those in Bevelle. He saw that Praetor Baralai was a reasonable man and understood this, but that others in New Yevon opposed the idea of their expansion in Bevelle. So he said; if they could just get a chance to see Baralai alone, without the others there to say no..."

She began to shudder again as more dry sobs came to her throat.

"No-one had ever spoken or held me so gently before. Not since Sin killed my family. He told me he loved me... I didn't care if he was an Al Bhed... I would have married him if he asked me... I would have left Bevelle, left everything to follow him and help his cause... I told him I'd help him. He said that they would never let his people see the Praetor alone if they knew who they were. So he wanted me to make sure one of his men was hired as an artist in the Palace. That way, when Gippal came for business, he'd already have someone there with him to help with negotiations. Then I had to arrange them to meet; the Praetor was to go the Greater Southern Quadrangle at 2pm, where the artist was waiting already-"

"Wait... You don't mean... Dyrran?"

She nodded vigorously as she pushed her hair, wet from tears out of her eyes.

"That... that was the man's name, yes."

_Dyrran? But... he was a good guy, wasn't he? He was Paine's friend!_

"Gippal was to meet them five minutes later," she continued on. "I thought it was strange that he wanted them to meet at different times, but he told me it was customary in Al Bhed culture when making a business deal, the instigator arrives later. It was strange, but I went along with it anyway... and now the Praetor's as good as dead..."

And then Dryada's tears flowed freely; her anguish started to make Rikku's eyes tear up as well. But she had something else much more important on her mind.

"Who was he? _What was his name?_" she urged the other girl.

_Damn it, stop crying! I need to know!_

"I don't even know if it was his real name... He called himself Khenn, and he said he was pretty high up at the Faction," she explained, her tears slowing.

Khenn? Who the heck was Khenn? Rikku didn't recognise the name at all. Dryada seemed to recognise the frustration on her face, as she quickly began to babble on again.

"He was pretty tall... six-foot maybe? He was big too... he was heavily muscled..."

"Yes? Yes?" encouraged Rikku, seeking details that set him apart from _any_ Al Bhed male working at the Faction.

"Um... he had short blonde hair, and a little stubble... a small goatee-beard sort of thing..."

"How old was he?"

"He was older than us... maybe in his early thirties? But I didn't pay attention to the age difference... he was so charming... He was quite good-looking, with a strong jawline... and he had these goggles, but they were different from the usual Al Bhed ones. They had brown leather straps with a gold swirly pattern."

Early thirties, high up in the Faction with _brown leather goggles with a gold design_? That could only be one person...

"Yevon, what was that?"

The nursemaid jumped out of her chair as a huge rumble and bang caused the floor to tremble slightly. A soft groan came from behind her and she turned, her face creased in anxiety. The sleeping man stirred from his uneasy slumber, the crisp white linen sheets getting tangled in his twisting limbs. The nurse hurried over to his bedside and took the now dry towel from his brow and carefully dampened it in the ceramic bowl of cold water on the nearby table. She gently laid it on his forehead and felt him recoil slightly at the cold wet touch. Her comforting sounds fell on his deaf ears, just as her gentle caress through his silvery hair was unnoticed.

"How is the praetor?" asked a middle-aged woman anxiously as she entered the room.

"Fine," replied the younger nurse, but her companion proceeded to nudge her out of the way and feel his temperature despite her assurances.

"Did he show any signs of distress during that tremor?"

"He stirred a little, but nothing of much concern..."

Glancing down at him, she hesitated.

"... But what _was _that?" she added quickly, as if she was unsure of the appropriateness of the question.

The older matron glared at her impatiently as she checked his pulse.

"If it was anything important, the guards would inform us. But right now, our most immediate concern is the praetor. Do not worry yourself with things that don't concern you," she replied coldly. She gently replaced the praetor's hand to the bed and left without another word.

The young nursemaid quietly shut the door and resumed her seat by the bedside, distracting herself by repeatedly checking his vitals and gently pushing his slightly greasy hair out of his face every now and then. He looked almost angelic, lying there unconscious. She smiled at the thought; he seemed so peaceful, despite his fitful rest and severed injuries. Exhaling deeply, she clutched his cool, limp hand and closed her eyes, familiarising herself with the calluses of his palm and fingers. His steady breathing was almost soothing and she became completely oblivious to the shouts and gunshots down in the courtyards several storeys below.

"_Cred!_"

Gippal swore loudly as he stumbled, clutching the metal bars in an attempt to steady himself. The ground had shaken as a huge bang somewhere outside echoed through the cavernous dungeon. He could hear shouts and heavy footsteps upstairs, along with faint gunshots. Lliam gripped his gun nervously, his face paling in stark contrast to his fiery red hair.

Poor kid. Despite his unquestioning belief in his guilt, Gippal kinda liked the guy. He seemed like a nice boy. Too bad he was one of them.

"Sir, what's happened?" he asked, standing up from his chair as a junior officer entered.

"They've blown through the southern wall. Lliam... they're inside the palace."

Lliam let out an audible gasp, his knuckles turning white as he held his gun more tightly.

"They'll... they'll be looking for _him_," he explained grimly, nodding towards Gippal. "So be ready. Shoot any Al Bhed in sight."

He left without a word, and the dungeon was silent, save for Lliam's heavy breathing. It had never been so empty before. Gippal supposed everyone had gone to defend from the siege, leaving only Lliam, who had just sank to the floor, swearing quietly to himself.

"Yevon, I can't _do_ this... I'm no killer... but they're gonna... they're gonna..."

Gippal glanced down at the poor boy slumped on the floor against the jail bars. He didn't deserve this. Gippal's heart lifted slightly at the thought of rescue and escape, but as he looked at Lliam, pity and anguish overwhelmed him. Because if they managed to find this dungeon, they'd kill the boy without a second thought. He clenched his fists and glanced at the now sobbing redhead and realised what he had to do.

"I'm sorry Lliam," he murmured before thrusting his arms through the bars and grabbing the unsuspecting guard by the shoulders and pulling as hard as he could. The jail bars rang out as Lliam's head smashed against the metal. Seeing how dazed he was, Gippal seized the chance and rifled through his pockets.

"Aha," he muttered in triumph, pulling out a pair of ancient-looking keys. The door opened with a click and swung creakily along its rusty hinges.

"Sorry for this," he said to the still dazed Lliam as he grabbed the gun from his slack fingers. He was halfway through the door with a smirk on his lips when he paused and glanced back. He didn't want to leave the poor kid _completely_ defenceless... He walked back and pulled Lliam's pistol from his holster and left the rifle on his lap. Checking the ammo, Gippal grinned. He liked pistols better anyway.

"_Vilg, vilg, vilg, vilg..._"

Nhadala shook her head in her arms and Paine couldn't help but pity her. Things were spiralling out of control, and after that near-fatal incident with the hover yesterday, she hadn't been herself.

"Nhadala!" screamed a woman running towards them, her face weary with perspiration.

"_Fryd ed ec? _(What is it?)" she asked anxiously.

"_Drao'ja kuddah rumt uv dra _mana_ aqbmucejac... Drao'ja cdyndat nekkehk ib dra cuidranh fymm! _(They've gotten hold of the mana explosives... They've started rigging up the southern wall!)_"_

"_Vilg!_"

Rolling up her sleeve, she sprinted off towards the commotion. The others followed suit.

"An interesting choice of location to breach the palace," mused Shinra, his suit squeaking with each step.

"How so?" asked Yuna.

"All the prisons located within St. Bevelle are either central or towards the north, particularly the Via Tradimento, which is the most probable location of Gippal's cell. That's where they keep the most wanted felons; at least, the ones that they don't intend to kill immediately," he replied carelessly.

"That's a pleasant thought," said Paine dryly. She couldn't help smiling despite herself; the boy's indifference was amusing, even in such dire circumstances.

"It's foolish, really. From the protest's camp in the west, to siege either direction would be just as easy. They're definitely taking the long route going south."

"Everybody, brace yourselves!" yelled Tidus, drawing his sword as they approached the commotion.

"Goodness!" gasped Yuna, clapping her hands to her mouth.

Huge machina engines larger than those used in the desert excavations were working furiously at the base of the great wall. Their giant drills were spinning at tremendous speed and the air was murky with plaster, stone and dirt.

"Khanno!" cried Nhadala, spotting him mere metres away from the scene. The others followed her. "_Fryd ec kuehk uh? _(What's going on?)"

"_Fa ry_ _ja fyedat duu muhk! Ed ec desa du cdyka y naclia pavuna drao tu cusadrehk ihtanryhtat!_ (We have waited too long! It is time to stage a rescue before they do something underhanded!)" he yelled passionately over the din.

"_Ech'd drec y ped aqdnasa?_ (Isn't this a bit extreme?)" murmured Nhadala, a hint of fear in her voice.

Khanno never responded though. For, at that moment, there was a huge bang and then...

Silence.

St. Bevelle had fallen.


End file.
